More than 2,000 workers at 112 Starbucks locations are set to go on a one-day strike Thursday, according to the union that has been organizing stores for the past year.   

  The union says it is striking to protest retaliation against union supporters across the country.  He is also protesting what he describes as the company’s refusal to negotiate with the union on a first labor agreement.  264 stores have voted in favor of union representation.  However, contracts have yet to be negotiated even in stores that were voted on nearly a year ago.   

  “This is to show them we’re not playing,” said Tyler Keeling, a 26-year-old union advocate who has worked at a Starbucks in Lakewood, California – near Los Angeles – for the past six years.  “We are done with their anti-union retaliation and they are walking away from negotiations.”   

  Keeling and other union supporters say it is up to each individual shop whether or not to join the nationwide strike.  Many shops have already held short strikes on specific issues.  But this is the first nationwide action.   

  “There’s a lot of fear before a store decides to go on strike,” said Michelle Eisen, an organizer at the first Starbucks store to vote for the union last December.  “Starbucks is fighting back against union leaders across the country.  But despite this fear, over 2,000 workers across the country are on strike today and standing up for each other.”   

  When the Keeling store staged a one-day strike in August, Starbucks ( SBUX ) workers from nearby non-union stores joined the picket line, he said, and some customers brought food and drinks to the strikers.   

  It is unclear how many of the stores affected by Thursday’s action will be able to remain open during the strike.   

  The protest comes on Starbucks’ “Red Cup” day, when it hands out reusable holiday cups with specific drink purchases that entitle customers to discounts and extra bonus points for future purchases.   

  “Red Cup Cultural Day is an important day at Starbucks.  People go crazy over it,” Keeling said.  He said holding the strike on a day that has such a high volume of customers is a great way to draw attention to anti-union activities.   

  The union is calling its strike the “Red Cup Uprising” and is handing out red Starbucks Workers United union cups to customers.   

  At a store across the street from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, workers walked the line even though their store doesn’t have a union vote until Dec. 8.  The store was open, with the help of managers brought in from other stores, according to the strikers.  Staff at work at the store did not comment on the strike.   

  Aaron Cirillo, a 23-year-old who has worked at the store since August, said he wasn’t discouraged that the store was able to stay open or that many customers crossed the picket line.   

  “We’re not trying to intimidate them.  We just want them to hear our story about the need for a fair contract,” he said.  Asked what he would say to customers if he could, he replied: “I would urge them to consider showing support by not getting a coffee today or going to any other shop in town for a coffee.”   

  The chants of the strikers were enough to prompt some customers to walk away, but there was a good flow of customers in the store.   

  The company was not immediately available for comment on the strike early Thursday.  He has previously denied retaliating against any worker for their support of the union and has blamed the union for a lack of progress at the bargaining table.  Starbucks has defended the firings of union supporters as proper enforcement of rules that apply to all its employees, whom it refers to as “associates.”   

  “Interest in a union does not exempt partners from following policies and procedures that apply to all partners,” Starbucks said in an earlier statement.   

  But this week, the National Labor Relations Board — which oversees union representation votes — filed in federal court for a national cease-and-desist order to prevent Starbucks from retaliating against union supporters.   

  The NLRB filing said there was a “number and pattern of unfair labor practices by Starbucks … particularly firings” of union supporters at its stores.