Submitted on Sat, 08/19/2006 - 12:03am
IWW Bradford took the word to boycott Starbucks for its union-busting activities to the busy Bradford town crowds.
Store managers were taken by surprise. The manager in the new Centenary Square Starbucks jumped up from doing the accounts and told the IWWs to stop leafletting customers. The Fellow Workers only left once they had distributed leaflets to the clients and staff person.
"I didn't think you could cause so much jitter with some A6 [leaflets]," said FW Clive, who reported that the manager said we should call ahead next time we want to leaflet. Sounds like a good idea.
The manager of Starbucks on the second floor of the Waterstones bookstore spread his arms to block the IWWs from climbing the stairs and distribute leaflets. The other Starbucks manager had called ahead to warn him. He said that his clients had the right to relax and enjoy their coffees. The IWWs told him that Starbucks employees had the right to unionize before walking past him. The manager threatened to call the police and the IWWs said, "Go ahead" and distributed leaflets to customers. No police came.
Submitted on Fri, 08/18/2006 - 11:58pm
44 New York City Starbucks Received a Notice of Violation from Department of Health Over Rat or Insect Presence
New York, NY- Fed up with Starbucks’ failure to deal with rat and insect problems, baristas of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union (www.starbucksunion.org) filed a complaint with OSHA today to address the vermin at three Manhattan Starbucks. The workers are seeking improvements in store sanitation, food storage, and other vermin avoidance measures rather than relying solely on periodic and ineffective exterminator visits. The union is also releasing the "Creepy Crawly Starbucks 44 "- a list of the 44 New York City Starbucks that were issued a Notice of Violation in their last inspection from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene over rodent, cockroach, or flying insect presence.
Submitted on Fri, 08/18/2006 - 11:53pm
David Sole, President
Lester Paul Willis - Vice-President
Kuriakose Cheeramvelil - Financial Secretary
Ursula Gray - Recording Secretary
Melvin Dacres, Samuel Gibson, Vijay Valecha – Trustees
Kieron Anthony – Sergeant-At-Arms
Cathy Willey - Guide
August 15, 2006
To: Starbucks Regional VP, Jim McDermet
Starbucks Regional Manager, Wendy Beckman
Dear Sir or Madam:
Our union is outraged that Starbucks has fired Daniel Gross and other union activists in clear violation of the right to organize. Your disregard for the rights of workers is a slap in the face to the entire labor movement. At our August 9 union meeting, a resolution was passed to inform our members and their families of your anti-union activities and to urge them not to buy Starbucks products until you reverse your anti-union policies. We further resolved to support all informational picket lines outside your establishments and to notify other UAW locals in the Metro Detroit area to do the same.
We hope that you will soon realize that being anti-union is not only wrong but will also hurt your bottom line.
Sincerely,
David Sole
President
Submitted on Wed, 08/16/2006 - 3:08pm
Just saw this on Gawker today, complete with video.
Link "OK, so maybe Shake Shack has no vermin problem, but the Starbucks on 2nd Avenue and 9th Street? Or 57th Street and Park Avenue? Not so fortunate. Employees protested this morning against the multitudinous infestations of rats and roaches, shown here lovingly in both photo and video (rats dead, roaches very much alive). Would you like some cucaracha with that biscotti?"
Submitted on Tue, 08/15/2006 - 12:47pm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, August 14, 2006
Contact:
Heidi Boghosian, NLG Executive Director, 212-679-5100, ext. 11
Michael Avery, NLG President, 617-573-8551
NLG Supports Boycott of Starbucks Until All Fired Union Members Are Reinstated
New York, NY- The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) strongly condemns Starbucks’ retaliatory firing of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organizer and NLG member Daniel Gross. Mr. Gross was fired after an investigation into his participation at a union rally in support of another IWW barista, Evan Winterscheidt. While Starbucks contends that Gross engaged in threatening conduct on the picket line, multiple eyewitnesses attest that he merely asserted solidarity with Mr. Winterscheidt to a district manager walking into the store. Mr. Gross is the fourth IWW barista terminated for union activity in less than a year. In response to the continued violation of labor rights by Starbucks, the NLG calls for a boycott of the company’s products until all fired IWW baristas are reinstated.
“The Guild is proud to stand in solidarity with the IWW baristas at Starbucks in their fight for a living wage and an independent voice on the job,” said Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild. “Starbucks should ashamed to be cashing in on a socially responsible image when the company is in reality a serial violator of labor rights.”
The NLG is appalled at Starbucks’ relentless and illegal anti-union campaign. In March 2006, the IWW Starbucks Workers Union and their lead attorney, Guild member Stuart Lichten, won a major National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case against the company, striking down several of the company’s national anti-union policies and reinstating two discharged union members. However, Starbucks has continued to break the law with impunity. The right to organize a union free of coercion is a fundamental right, enshrined in both U.S. and international law. It is imperative that Starbucks respect the right of baristas to organize and immediately call off the union-busting.
“Supporting an embattled co-worker as Daniel did is the hallmark of mutual aid and support and has been protected by law for over seventy years,” said Michael Avery, the President of the National Lawyers Guild. “The Guild looks forward to standing with Daniel and the other fired baristas as they vindicate their rights in court and on the streets.”
Despite the union-busting, the IWW baristas have pressured Starbucks to win three wage increases, a more secure schedule, and some safety improvements. The union has also taken action on the job to remedy worker grievances with the company. More information on how to support the IWW Starbucks Workers Union is available online at www.starbucksunion.org.
The National Lawyers Guild, founded in 1937, is a progressive bar association of lawyers, law students, legal workers and jailhouse lawyers. Its national office is in New York and it has chapters in nearly every state, as well as more than 100 law school chapters. The Guild has a long history of supporting the labor movement in this country and internationally.