Submitted on Tue, 01/22/2008 - 10:14pm
Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW. The image pictured to the right did not appear in the original article, we have added it here to provide a visual perspective. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.
By DANIEL GROSS - Counterpunch, January 19 / 20, 2008
In the watered-down version of what
passes for history these days, what the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. was doing when he was assassinated is left out. In
the current atmosphere of unbridled hostility to labor organizing,
it's worthwhile to recall those final days of his life.
Dr. King traveled to Memphis
in support of a watershed strike of mostly black city sanitation
workers. The workers initiated their historic work stoppage
to vindicate the basic right of free association in the form
of a labor union. The government deemed their efforts illegal
and worked aggressively to defeat them.
While wages and working conditions
including health and safety were critical issues, there's no
doubt that the strike was also about human dignity itself. Indeed,
many of the workers and their community supporters carried picket
signs reading simply, "I AM A MAN."
Submitted on Tue, 01/22/2008 - 1:31pm
The New York Times
By COLIN MOYNIHAN
Published: January 22, 2008
The dramatic battles of the American labor movement were often fought in hazardous settings like the coal fields of Kentucky or the textile mills of Massachusetts.
In recent times, though, a different type of labor dispute has become familiar in New York, focused on the retail outlets that keep upscale customers fed and caffeinated.
And so it was that a crowd of about 50 people wrapped in scarves and bandannas against the cold gathered Monday morning outside a Starbucks at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 33rd Street.
Submitted on Thu, 01/10/2008 - 3:17pm
By KRIS MAHER, Wall Street Journal - January 9, 2008
A series of emails by Starbucks Corp. managers sheds light on the
company's efforts to thwart union organizing among its baristas.
The emails, which are part of a labor-dispute proceeding in New York
and were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, open a rare window onto
the company's labor relations practices. Labor experts not involved
with the case said the activity is not illegal. But the emails could
prove embarrassing because they show managers using various methods to
identify pro-union employees.
Submitted on Tue, 01/01/2008 - 4:00pm
On Friday, December 21st, around a dozen area IWW members,
overwhelmingly Starbucks Baristas, gathered outside of 1 of around 4
Dupont Circle Starbucks, braving the harsh winter elements in favor of
abolishing the wage system. Their mission: reveal the Starbucks PR
facade for what it is. Starbucks talks the social responsibility talk
but they employ fewer with healthcare than even Walmart, so often the
target of liberal scorn. A union members words are pertinent:
"I'm a mother of four and my Starbucks wage puts me well below the poverty line,"
Submitted on Tue, 01/01/2008 - 3:01pm
Starbucks' Communique Followed by the Statement of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union
Thank you for contacting Starbucks Coffee Company. We appreciate your writing to us with your concerns about holiday pay for our partners (employees) working on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.