BELLINGHAM, WA – Workers at more than 200 Starbucks stores walked off the job Thursday in what organizers say is their largest strike yet.

The strike coincides with Starbucks’ biggest sales event of the season known as Red Cup Day, where the company gives out holiday-themed reusable cups.

Chloe Hogan is a barista and strike leader at the Starbucks on King and Iowa, and says workers there are protesting over unfair labor practices.

Hogan says her King Street location unionized before Starbucks rolled out a benefits agreement, which puts her store at a disadvantage compared to locations that unionized after the cutoff date for those benefits.

Starbucks claims the union Starbucks Workers United is refusing to fairly negotiate.

Hogan and her coworkers hope that protests like Thursday’s will raise the attention towards getting the company back to the bargaining table.

Unionized Bellingham locations at Sehome Village, Cordata Center and King Street all participated and closed Thursday.

The stores are expected to reopen on Friday.