ANAHEIM – Some Southern California coffee aficionados may have had trouble taking advantage of Starbucks’ popular Red Cup Day event Thursday, with about 1,000 baristas in 40 cities nationally, including Long Beach and Anaheim, walking off the job to call for a “fair union contract.”

The baristas, represented by Starbucks Workers United, held the labor action — dubbed the Red Cup Rebellion — at 65 stores nationally, with the union calling it an “open-ended strike” prompted by the coffee giant “refusing to offer new proposals” to address demands such as higher wages, better staffing and alleged unfair labor practices.

“If Starbucks keeps stonewalling a fair contract and refusing to end union-busting, they’ll see their business grind to a halt,” Michelle Eisen, Starbucks Workers United spok

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