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Submitted on Tue, 05/15/2007 - 11:46am
UNITE action against Starbucks
In response to a call from the Starbucks Workers Union (SWU) in the US, UNITE is proud to be participating in an international day of action in solidarity with Starbucks workers on May 17.
UNITE members and supporters will be holding an action outside Starbucks on Swanston Street in the Melbourne CBD. At the store located between Lonsdale and Little Lonsdale streets (across from QV). Please join us between 4pm & 5pm Thursday May 17.
See below for the text of the leaflet UNITE will be handing out on the day. It is based on similar leaflets that will be handed out across the world.
Solidarity with Starbucks workers
Submitted on Tue, 05/15/2007 - 11:44am
From coast-to-coast and around the world, SWU activists are responding to the call for solidarity on M17. The latest pledge of action has come in from unionists in Austria! The third anniversary of the IWW campaign at Starbucks is shaping up to be a powerful day indeed.
Workers at the big chains were supposed to keep quiet as these mammoth enterprises devastated our wages and working conditions along with our communities. But no more. We're organizing, we're finding forms that work, and we're doing it around the world.
Original posting: http://www.starbucksunion.org/node/1531
Submitted on Mon, 05/14/2007 - 2:46am
Los trabajadores de Starbucks y sus amigos aliados tomaran a las calles para demandar justicia de la cadena cafetera mas grande del mundo para los baristas y granjeros de café.
Tres años atrás los jefes de la corporación Starbucks estaban despreocupados y sentados muy bonito en sus fortunas multi-millonarias, confiados que leyes laborales contra el empleado continuarían beneficiándoles con una fuerza de empleo sin miembros de algún sindicato en los EE.UU. Pero aun enfrentando obstáculos, los trabajadores encontraron la manera de unirse y pelear por justicia hasta la victoria. Tres años después de que el IWW Starbucks Workers Union [StarbucksUnion.org], el sindicato ahora tiene miembros en varios estados de los EE.UU. que están usando acción directa para levantarse de la pobreza y articular una voz independiente en el trabajo.
Submitted on Wed, 05/09/2007 - 4:08am
Call to Action for a Day in Solidarity with Starbucks Workers
May 17, 2007
Starbucks workers and their allies will take to the streets around the world to demand justice from the world's largest coffee chain for baristas and coffee farmers. Three years ago the corporate bosses at Starbucks were sitting pretty on their multi-million dollar fortunes, confident that anti-worker labor laws would continue to ensure a workforce with zero union membership in the United States. But no matter the constraints, working people will find a way to join hands and struggle for justice until victory. Three years after the founding of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union [StarbucksUnion.org], the organization has members in multiple U.S states successfully using Direct Action to rise out of poverty and articulate an independent voice on the job.
Submitted on Wed, 05/09/2007 - 4:04am
As the May 17th Day of Action to commemorate the third anniversary of the Starbucks Workers Union approaches, IWW barista Sarah Bender will appear on Pacifica's Democracy Now!. On Wednesday May 9, Sarah will discuss the IWW's organizing drive at Starbucks and our Justice from Bean to Cup! initiative in the wake of the victory against Starbucks for Ethiopian coffee farmers.
Sarah was fired by Starbucks in retaliation for union activity in 2005. Far from backing down, Sarah coordinated a grassroots support effort which culminated in a legal victory against Starbucks that won Sarah her job back. In addition to organizing on the job, Sarah participated in a barista delegation to Ethiopia to build relationships with the coffee farmers growing beans for Starbucks.
