A 12-foot inflated rat, pointy teeth jutting from its fierce jaws, stood in front of Starbucks in Geneva.

The beast was surrounded by a dozen striking Starbucks workers Wednesday whose signs – including “No contract, no coffee” and “Don’t cross our picket line” – drew honks and cheers from some passing drivers outside the store at the corner of Illinois Routes 38 and 31.

The pickets were among the more than 2,000 members of Starbucks Workers United on a nationwide strike that started Nov. 13, covering 95 stores in 65 cities, according to reports.

“We are out here striking against the company for stonewalling us in our contract negotiations, and to fight unfair labor practices the company engages in,” Diego Franco said. “We have unionized stores for about four years now, and since last December, the company has been stonewalling us on an economic package in our contract.”

Franco said the unfair labor practices the union alleges range from firing union organizers, spreading anti-union propaganda and hiring anti-union lawyers.

“In the short span of our unionizing efforts, Starbucks has gained the reputation of being one – if not the biggest – union buster in America,” Franco said.

According to the union’s website, baristas on strike are protesting more than 700 unresolved unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks.

In an email response, Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson, wrote that “99% of its 17,000 U.S. locations remain open, including many the union publicly stated would strike but never closed or have since reopened.”

“Regardless of the union’s plans, we do not anticipate any meaningful disruption,” according to Anderson’s statement. “When the union is ready to return to the bargaining table, we’re ready to talk. ... People choose to work here and stay here – our turnover is less than half the industry average, and we receive more than a million job applications every year.”

According to Anderson’s statement, baristas earn $30 per hour on average in wages and benefits, but according to ZipRecruiter, the majority of Starbucks baristas earn $13.27 to $16.35 per hour.

Inside the Geneva Starbucks, things were quiet, as only two people were working and nobody was sitting at any of the tables. The employees referred a reporter to the company’s media relations phone number.

A woman who stopped in said she was only picking something up that had been ordered. Another who crossed the picket line declined to comment.

The strikers were not only urging customers not to go into the store, but not to buy any Starbucks products in retail stores or from vending machines.

“Geneva has a bunch of local coffeeshops they could much rather be going to, but are still choosing to cross our picket line and still supporting a company that is not supporting its workers,” Franco said.

More information about the Starbucks Workers United strike is available online at sbworkersunited.org. More information about Starbucks’s position about the strike is available online at about.starbucks.com.