Submitted on Thu, 10/02/2008 - 7:09pm
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 LAUREN SHEPHERD - NEW YORK (AP) -- Starbucks Corp. has settled a National Labor Relations
Board complaint with an employee who said he was fired this summer for promoting
union activity.
The agreement marks the gourmet coffee chain's third settlement of an NLRB
complaint alleging the company was attempting to dissuade employees from joining
a union.
The settlement stemmed from a complaint filed in July by Minneapolis
barista Erik Forman who claimed he was fired for encouraging workers to join the
Industrial Workers of the World union. He was fired July 10 after he received a
"final written warning" for showing up half an hour late to work. The warning
followed two earlier tardy notices.
Submitted on Sun, 09/07/2008 - 1:55pm
Today 8/31/08 at 1pm the Twin Cities IWW held at the Lake and Hiawatha
Light Rail Station in solidarity with Starbucks workers and to celebrate
getting our comrade Erik Foreman?s job back. The rally was a great success
with about 100 people showing up. At about 1:45 we all legally boarded the
light rail (using rail passes) and headed down to the Mall of America in order
to escort our fellow worker back to his first shift.
Everyone was peaceful and orderly on the train as we headed south. At
the Bloomington Station we were met by police who asked to speak with us regarding our plans. We informed the police that we did not wish to
cause any trouble, to protest inside of the mall, or to unlawfully assemble in
any way inside the mall. The police told us we should be fine and that we
would not have any trouble. We were then allowed to proceed to the MOA stop.
At the MOA the train was surrounded by police in full riot gear. They threatened to arrest us if we left the train. We were trapped inside
the train for about 20 minutes. The police even prohibited a woman with a
child who needed insulin from leaving the train, endangering the child's
health. After about 10 minutes and only after repeatedly insisting that we had
a
medical emergency did the police permit the woman and child to exit
the train. When asked why we were being detained a policeman said: "the
mall doesn't want you here." The officers? badge numbers were mostly covered
by their gear.
Submitted on Fri, 09/05/2008 - 1:23pm
Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.
Pro-union Starbucks barista gets his job back
NEW YORK -- A barista who said he was fired from Starbucks Corp. for helping to organize fellow workers into a union has been given his job
back.
In a preliminary reinstatement agreement dated Aug. 14 obtained by The Associated Press, Starbucks said its firing of employee Erik Forman was "ill-considered and should be reversed."
Forman said he will start back at work on Sunday at the same Mall ofAmerica location in Minnesota that he was fired from in July.
When he worked there, Forman said he had been talking to employees at his own store and at other stores in the area about joining the Industrial Workers of the World union.
In an interview, Forman said although several other employees at the store were members of the union, "I was the most vocal and the most
active."
Starbucks spokeswoman Tara Darrow confirmed that Forman was being given his job back but said his firing and reinstatement had nothing to do with his support for the union.
Submitted on Tue, 07/22/2008 - 12:12pm
For Immediate Release:
Starbucks Workers Union/Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
Contact: Erik Forman, 612-245-4871
July 21, 2008
Starbucks Baristas at the Mall of America Stop Work to Protest Store Closures
Workers Demand Right to Transfer and Fair Severance for Affected Employees
Press Conference July 22, 12 noon, Mall of America Northside Parking Lot
Twin Cities, MN- Baristas at the Mall of America Starbucks walked off
the café floor today and delivered a demand letter to management
calling for just treatment of all employees affected by Starbucks’
closure of stores nationwide. The surprise job action comes in the wake
of the coffee giant’s announcement that it will close 600 stores,
including 27 in Minnesota.
The baristas demanded an option to transfer to other stores and a fair
severance package for affected workers. Starbucks reportedly plans to
give workers just one month notice before laying them off with a paltry
two weeks’ pay The company will insist that some baristas transfer and
will revoke severance pay if transfer offers are refused.
Submitted on Tue, 07/22/2008 - 12:02pm
Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.
By Julie Forster, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
Jul.
22--Some baristas at the Mall of America Starbucks are using the
company's recently announced plans to close 600 stores nationwide to
publicize a 4-year-old union organizing effort.
Starbucks plans to close 27 Minnesota locations.
On Monday, two workers walked off the cafe floor and delivered a demand
letter to the store manager asking for, among other things, a more
lucrative severance package for workers in Minnesota affected by the
store closings, according to the Starbucks Workers Union, an organizing
campaign of the Industrial Workers of the World.
