Sac State’s Young Democratic Socialists of America continues campaign to remove Starbucks from campus

Sac State’s Young Democratic Socialists of America continues campaign to remove Starbucks from campus Categories: Campus Community Featured News Union Sac State’s Young Democratic Socialists of America continues campaign to remove Starbucks from campus Union supporters and representatives want the coffee giant off campus grounds Vanessa Gomez, News Staffer • October 13, 2026 Nykeriyah Brown People holding signs against Starbucks in front of the University Union on Thursday, Oct. 8 2026. YDSA, who is leading the campaign to remove Starbucks from campus, voted to take on the cause in the Fall 2025 semester. The Sacramento State chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), continues onto the next phase of their campaign to remove Starbucks from campus by holding a town hall meeting on Oct. 8, 2026. The town hall featured talks from union representatives and activists both in and outside the Sac State community. Vicente Martinez, a member of the Starbucks Workers United (SWU), a union affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, opened the town hall. They explained that at the current moment, SWU had around 17,000 baristas supporting the union, but still hadn’t been able to negotiate a contract with the company.  Martinez originally wanted to work at Starbucks due to their image as an ‘equity-minded’ company, which was deeply important to them as a LGBTQ+ person living in Texas. When they were hired in 2018, the starting pay was $1.50 more per hour than the Texas minimum wage, and the company offered a fully-paid degree from Arizona State University to all workers.  Over the years, however, Martinez said that the benefits started to become less appealing as management began cutting hours, and targeting union organization. Martinez states that union-busting has worsened under CEO Brian Niccol. “The benefits used to be extremely inclusive, extremely beneficial for a lot of people. I mean, we had transgender hormone therapy and feminization surgery that was covered,” Martinez said. “Since stores started organizing, they’ve absolutely started taking benefits and opportunities away, to hopefully discourage people from unionizing.” The town hall also featured Teamsters 2010 representative Matthew Mason and Caroline Keegan, an assistant professor of geography and executive board member of the California Faculty Association, who discussed how unions bargain for the workers. Another speaker, Nataya Rule, has been trying to form a union at Sky River Casino with Unite Here Local 49.  RELATED: CSU Employee Union hosts rally in support of ASI unionization After the town hall meeting, participants from the meeting held a small demonstration against Starbucks in front of the University Union, holding up signs denouncing the coffee chain’s anti-union actions and poor treatment of baristas. YDSA is one of several student groups across the country that have joined Students Against Starbucks, which calls on universities to remove Starbucks from campuses across the country. Joshua Daniel, a third-year philosophy student and co-chair of YDSA, said that the club voted to take on this cause in the Fall 2025 semester.  “What we’re doing is we’re cutting [Starbucks’] contract with Sac State,” Daniel said. “That’s what we want because that is what [workers] believe that students can help their cause the most.” Starbucks has been facing accusations of intentional union-busting for several years, including by the United Nations Human Rights Council. On March 10, 2026, the council sent a letter to Niccol expressing concern over ‘ongoing and widespread union-busting campaign perpetrated by Starbucks, and its mid-to high-level representatives’ since 2021. Daniel said that removing Starbucks from college campuses would be a huge hit to their profits. According to a 2018 study, around 92% of college students in the U.S. consume some form of caffeine, with coffee being the most common form of caffeine intake.  “Because college students drink a lot of coffee, it’s a big market share,” Daniel said. “So it’s a tactical, thought-out campaign that is actually trying to make a change for the positive.” Last semester, The State Hornet published an op-ed by YDSA member Tyler Nielsen calling for the school to end its contract with the chain. Several universities have already cut ties with the coffee chain, including UCLA, Cornell University, and Pomona College. YDSA is currently circling a petition that will be sent to University Enterprises, Inc. (UEI) Interim Director Patrice Griffith. YDSA has met with Griffith and Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) this semester. UEI currently outsources its dining service operations to Aramark. Neither UEI or Aramark could be reached for comment. Fourth-year fashion merchandising major Soulana Glass said that YDSA is working more closely with UEI and ASI, but won’t be discouraged if there are roadblocks from administration. Glass said that the petition will be circled to all people associated with Sac State, including faculty and staff.  “It’s not just students who are going to Starbucks, it’s also community members, it’s also faculty, it’s also alumni who are paying into this school,” Glass said. Glass, the former president-secretary of YDSA, said that this semester the club is making a more concentrated effort to collect signatures.  “It’s going to be more public demonstrations like this. It’s going to be a wider social media campaign,” Glass said. “More concerted efforts to reach students at an individual level and really utilize the networks and the coalition that we’ve built over the last two semesters.” View Story Comments Print this Story Leave a Comment Donate to The State Hornet $890 $2,500 Contributed Our Goal Your donation will support the student journalists of Sacramento State University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs. We recently reset our donation goal, find out more here: https://statehornet.com/2025/12/resetting-donation-counter/ Donate More to Discover More in Campus Tropeycalia Club performs ‘Cannibalism’ through satire and humor UPDATE: Student in an active investigation after silent chalk protest The State Hornet Broadcast: Motor vehicle theft on the rise, license plate readers on campus, California Faculty Association rally and sports updates Sac State ceramics department holds silent protest KSSU: 35 Years of Student Radio Integrantes de la MSA de la Universidad Sacramento State reportan un incidente de odio durante la feria de asociaciones estudiantiles More in Community The Esak’timá Center recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ Day at Sac State The Nature of the Hive: Bees in the crag The Youth Power Festival gives young artists and vendors an outlet Orange Shirt Day: Remembering children lost in residential schools Second chalk protest turns into disciplinary hearing ‘Café y Conversación’ kicks off the semester with discussions of Cuba-U.S. relations More in Featured Wolverines pounce late and claw past the Hornets Voces de Sacramento celebra la escritura creativa y los testimonios en español Siete artistas, siete sonidos: el corazón de la música latina Plays of the Week: explosive plays, goals and even more goals Roadrunners hit a wall: Hornets contain Roadrunners to secure program’s first Big West win OPINION: Sexual misconduct on college campuses is a systemic issue About the Contributor Vanessa Gomez, News Staffer (she/her) Vanessa is a senior journalism major at Sacramento State, and has been with The State Hornet for four semesters. She originally started studying journalism at San Joaquin Delta College, where she was the news editor for two semesters. At The State Hornet she has worked as a multimedia staffer taking both short-form and long-form video, and as a news staffer covering events, writing profiles and taking photos.