Submitted on Wed, 07/20/2005 - 3:11am
IWW Starbucks Workers Union Update and Call-In Day Aug. 1, 2005
Posted July 18, 2005
May 24, 2005- Starbucks terminates IWW member Sarah Bender, a worker at the 17th St. and 1st Ave. store in Manhattan, for her union activity. Fellow Worker Bender's termination marks the first time since the founding of the Starbucks Workers Union over a year ago that the company has fired a worker purely for union organizing. Starbucks learned that Sarah was associated with the Starbucks Workers Union after she hosted a party attended by Union members. Since then, the company has arbitrarily disciplined her to build a phony case for firing her. The pretext for her termination was that she allegedly came out six dollars short on her cash register. On the day in question FW Bender counted the money in her till, determined she had the correct amount, and placed the money in a sealed plastic bag. She then deposited the bag into the store safe. Sarah's store manager, Noura Glenn, subsequently unsealed the bag and falsely claimed there was a shortage. Please lend a hand in the national Call-In Day Against Starbucks on Monday August 1 to demand Sarah Bender's reinstatement. The details are at the end of this update.
Submitted on Thu, 06/16/2005 - 10:46am
Saturday, June 18 - 12:00pm to 3:00pm:
IWW and Friends Return to the 17th St. and 1st Ave. in Manhattan Starbucks: Get an Organizer Her Damn Job Back!
Join a rowdy moving picket in front of the starbucks at 17th St and 1st Ave in New York City. Bring friends, drums, whistles, and spirit. If you stop in, tip but don't buy.
Sarah Bender was "separated" for allegedly mishandling six dollars. This happened one week after store manager Noura Glenn was overheard discussing her plans to fire Sarah for union activity.
So join us as we demand the unconditional reinstatement of Sarah Bender and an end to illegal union busting! An injury to one is an injury to all.
4:00pm to 7:00pm - Support the Union
The picket relocates. Celebrate the starbucks workers at 2nd Avenue and 9th St. who proudly went public as an IWW union on May 27th 2005! Show your support.
http://www.starbucksunion.org
Submitted on Sat, 06/11/2005 - 1:28pm
By Stanley Holmes- Business Week, June 3, 2005.
For a company that calls its employees "partners," Starbucks is plenty steamed over attempts by some to join a union. The National Labor Relations Board has set a June 15 hearing on claims that management engaged in illegal anti-union activity to keep employees at a New York Starbucks from joining the Industrial Workers of the World.
The IWW local says in the NLRB complaint that management threatened to withhold pay, spied on workers, and offered baseball tickets and health club passes to keep some from joining up. Starbucks officials deny the allegations. Says spokeswoman Audrey Lincoff: "We are pro-partner, and we will not interfere in partners' right in any decision they choose to make."
Starbucks workers announced last year they had formed the company's first North American union, at the store at 36th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. The union isn't certified with the NLRB, but employee and organizer Daniel Gross said it has already won concessions, such as higher starting wages in New York and recognition of repetitive stress injuries, and is gaining members. Starbucks officials deny those claims.
Submitted on Sun, 05/29/2005 - 4:32pm
New York - On May 28th at 6:30pm Starbucks workers are demonstrating their right to join the Industrial Workers of the World - IU/660, also known as the Retail Workers' Union. Workers of Starbucks at 2nd Ave and 9th Street are demanding an immediate stop to all anti-union activity, reinstatement of Sarah Bender and Alex Diaz, affirmation of our right to organize, a living wage for all employees, guaranteed hours with the option for full-time status, consistent scheduling, an end to under-staffing, the right to organize, and respect from our bosses.
"In New York City we start at $8.25 an hour and are lucky to receive anything above 20 hours a week. Starbucks profits off our backs by depending on a low labor costs in the stores and from out sourced labor. They are the Wal-Mart of the coffee industry." Claimed Laura Deanda of 2nd and 9th.