The mayor-elect vowed to continue to make such appearances once he takes office, emphasizing a “sustained commitment in terms of political will”
Starbucks workers picketed on Monday afternoon in front of the coffee chain’s shop in Park Slope, where they were joined in a show of support by mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Marching through the bright yet chilly weather, the workers’ labor action was part of an ongoing national strike taking place in dozens of cities across the country that began weeks ago, demanding that management negotiate with the union for a new contract. “I joined them because I want to do everything that I can to show my solidarity” Mamdani said, “but also because I know that far too often, the voices of everyday working people are not amplified with the same volume that management so easily receives.”
Earlier in the day, Starbucks agreed to pay over $35 million to 15,000 workers and over $3 million in fines to settle a lawsuit brought by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. The company had cut workers’ shifts significantly at 300 locations and changed their schedules without notice, while also denying them the chance to pick up more shifts.
Lifting up labor actions has been a cornerstone of Mamdani’s political strategy since his time in the State Assembly, where he successfully obtained reforms for deeply indebted taxi drivers in 2021 by going on hunger strike with them for 15 days. The mayor-elect’s transition team and future administration have also been part of his current show of solidarity, with transition co-chair Lina Khan and future First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan joining other picketing Starbucks workers in downtown Manhattan on Nov. 20. Mamdani also signaled his intent to maintain a “sustained commitment in terms of political will necessary to ensure that we hold these kinds of corporations to account.”
Senator Sanders, who Mamdani has previously called “the single most influential political figure in my life,” used his time at the mic to broaden the scope of the picket, returning to the issue of income inequality that was central to his presidential runs in 2016 and 2020, and which has only exacerbated since. “What is happening here on this picket line is happening all over this country,” Sanders said. “We are living in an economy where the people on top have never ever had it so good,” he added, contrasting that with the fact that 60 percent of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck. The senator and Mamdani both highlighted Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol’s compensation, which in 2024 alone was over $90 million.
Mamdani’s successful campaign rhetoric focused on “affordability” has pushed President Trump to contend with the term and claim that his own politics speaks to that concern. Sanders roundly dismissed that argument, calling him a “pathological liar” and pointing to Affordable Care Act premiums which are set to spike as Republicans allow subsidies to expire. “Maybe Trump should go out to those people who are going to see a doubling or a tripling in their premiums and explain to them how he is the affordable president,” the Vermont Senator said.
Sanders went on to praise Mamdani’s campaign strategy, saying that he “ran one of the great campaigns of modern American history” and that he hoped to see it replicated in House and Senate races across the country. “What Zohran did inspired people all over this court, all over the world, and we’re going to keep going forward.”
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