Submitted on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 1:15pm
By Diane Krauthamer
Despite the torrential late spring rain, thousands of workers spent their May Day marching and rallying through the streets of Manhattan, displaying solidarity with workers at home and abroad. New Yorkers celebrated this international workers’ holiday with actions, events, marches and rallies, coordinated by a number of labor unions, community associations, political parties and non-profit organizations. In the spirit of celebration, the New York City IWW marched on Starbucks to demand that the coffee giant treat its workers with respect.
Beginning with a 2:00 pm a rally in the heart of Chinatown, the IWW joined hundreds of individuals from community and labor organizations to demand “Equal Rights for All Workers.” IWW members Stephanie Basile and Vance Hinton delivered powerful speeches on top of the soapbox.
“May 1st is the real Labor Day. They want us to forget that, but we’ll never forget. It was through collective action that those before us made the gains we currently enjoy today,” Basile said.
Submitted on Sun, 04/26/2009 - 11:13pm
Happy International Workers’ Day!
Dear Friend,
This Friday, May 1st, is YOUR day, a day to celebrate all working people.
Please take a moment to thank your co-workers, friends, and family members for all the hard work they do every day.
Many people don’t know about the history of May 1st as a workers’ holiday. Here is some information on the roots of May 1st, also called May Day.
ORIGINS
The origins of International Workers’ Day go back to 1886, when hundreds of thousands workers across the United States went on strike. Workers demanded that their 10- and 12-hour workdays be shortened to an 8-hour day with no reduction in pay. Over the next few years, thousands of workers won the 8-hour workday that many of us still enjoy today.
REMEMBERING THE HAYMARKET MARTYRS
We also celebrate in memory of the Haymarket massacre, in which eight labor activists were framed and put on trial by the government. On May 4, 1886, there was a rally at Chicago’s Haymarket Square in support of striking workers from a nearby factory.
Submitted on Tue, 03/31/2009 - 10:01am
Clowning the Boss
By FW double jeff
Monday, February 16th The New York branch of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union held an energetic eight-hour picket outside two separate Starbucks locations. Originally planned as a “loose informal picket” outside the Union Square East Starbucks location, managerial stupidity and increased union-busting activity on the part of Starbucks turned it into a media circus and all night protest. Between the time when the picket was planned and when it actually took place, Starbucks decided to fire yet another union barista, Sharon Bell, from the 17th and Broadway location, conveniently located across the park from Union Square East.
The picket was called to protest the recent wave of Starbucks layoffs and draw attention to the refusal of Starbucks to pay severance, in spite of claiming in several press releases to the media that they will be providing severance pay to all laid off workers. The message was expanded to include the demand for the reinstatement of Sharon Bell and an immediate end to the illegal, unethical, nationally coordinated union-busting operations of Starbucks Coffee.
Submitted on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 3:24pm
From
NBC New York:
Protesters call for "reinstatement of all fired union baristas"
With 10 or 15 current and former Starbucks colleagues by her side, former barista Sharon Bell stood dressed in a black winter parka holding a sign with the names of six recently fired baristas, including herself, and the words, "Rehire laid off baristas now!!!"
Last week, Bell was fired by Starbucks for what her managers said were issues relating to her tardiness and overall attendance, a charge she and her fellow union members adamantly deny.
Bell said the real reason for her "expresso termination" is recent activity with the Starbucks Workers Union. In a document given out at the protest, the union claims the popular coffee company "has illegally fired three baristas for organizing with the Starbucks Workers Union. Sheanel Simon, Sharon Bell and Neal Linder are excellent baristas and highly respected union members." The Union goes on to note that Simon has since been reinstated, while Bell and Linder remain unemployed.
Submitted on Thu, 02/05/2009 - 6:19pm
For Immediate Release:
Brandworkers International
Contact: press (at) brandworkers.org
Brandworkers Denounces Bribe Offers as Wild Edibles' Latest Attempt to
Avoid Accountability to Employees
New York, NY (02/03/2009) - Brandworkers, a non-profit for retail and food
employees, announced today that several of its members from Wild Edibles, Inc.
have been offered bribes to end a 16-month workplace accountability campaign
directed at the company. While refusing to pay what is owed in ongoing federal
court and Labor Board litigation, Wild Edibles owner Richard Martin and one of
his lieutenants have been offering cash payments to workers if they revoke their
membership in Brandworkers and repudiate a worker-led public education campaign
regarding rights abuses at the seafood processor and retailer.