Submitted on Sun, 01/21/2007 - 8:20pm
As part of its ongoing solidarity campaign with sacked Starbucks workers in the US the Solidarity Federation, ex-loafers and London IWW held a picket of Greenwich and Blackheath Starbucks on Sat 20th Jan 2007.
Starbucks in South East London and the City will be picketted every fortnight thereafter. As a call is made for an end to the anti-union campaign waged by Starbucks and for the reinstatement of all unlawfully fired workers. In addition they are calling on Starbucks to give Ethiopia control over it's coffee.
They will be encouraging Starbuck workers to organise to make their jobs better and finally have a real independant voice at work. By organising a union, baristas in the US have seen wages increased, schedules stabilised and respect from the bosses.
Starbucks have consistently responded to workers organising with threats, intimidation, harassment and illegal firings and since Dec 2005 five workers in NYC have been sacked for engaging in protected union activity.
Submitted on Sat, 01/20/2007 - 2:29pm
Disclaimer - The following article is reposted here because it is an issue with some relevance to the IWW. The views of the author do not necessarily agree with those of the IWW and vice versa.
By Brent Hunsberger - The Oregonian, Saturday, January 20, 2007
A former Starbucks barista in Hillsboro has sued the coffee giant, saying it discriminated against her based on her Wiccan religion.
In a complaint filed Jan. 8 in U.S. District Court in Portland, Alicia Hedum said a manager at Starbucks' Hillsboro Landing cafe asked her to remove her Wiccan cross several times, even though other employees, including the manager, wore Christian crosses.
Hedum accused Starbucks of retaliating by refusing to promote or transfer her, reducing her hours and scrutinizing her "minor tardiness."
Submitted on Sat, 01/20/2007 - 2:02pm
Rockville, Maryland- Employees at a Starbucks store here announced their membership in the IWW Starbucks Workers Union [www.StarbucksUnion.org] today and served a list of demands on their manager including a living wage, secure work hours, and the reinstatement of union baristas illegally fired for organizing activity. The action marks the expansion of the SWU to a third state- baristas began joining the union in New York City and the campaign grew to Chicago last August. Starbucks cafes were completely non-union in the United States before the Industrial Workers of the World initiated its organizing drive in 2004.
"No worker should have to deal with understaffing on one hand and the inability to get enough work hours on the other," said Seth Dietz, one of the Maryland baristas who declared his union membership. "Only an independent voice on the job will win baristas the respect we deserve and that's why the expansion of the organization to Maryland is so gratifying."
Submitted on Sat, 01/20/2007 - 1:58pm
Michael L. Mack
District Manager, Starbucks Coffee Company
2600 Park Tower Drive, Suite 100
Vienna, VA 22180
January 19, 2007
Dear Mr. Mack,
We are members of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union (SWU), a labor organization for employees at Starbucks. As you may know, we are united to secure our work hours, earn a living wage, and win respect for our labor. Today baristas at a store in your Maryland-based district have announced their membership in the Union. They join workers at stores in New York City and Chicago who have done the same. We insist that you respect their right under domestic and international law to join a union.
Employees at Starbucks who have joined the SWU have improved their wages and working conditions through collective action. As this process proceeds in your district, the SWU will be monitoring your conduct closely. We strongly encourage you to obey the law and avoid joining the Starbucks managers who have chosen to cross the line into illegality.
Submitted on Fri, 01/05/2007 - 3:12pm
Actions in some fifty cities around the world, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand and American cities including New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and San Francisco protested Starbucks’ anti-union practices and the wrongful firing of five union activists over the Thanksgiving weekend Nov. 24.
The global day of action kicked off Nov. 22, when five New York City IWW baristas illegally fired for their union activities entered Starbucks regional headquarters to demand their jobs back and that Starbucks cease its scorched earth union-busting policy.
As SWU members and community supporters picketed outside, the fired baristas addressed their demands to Starbucks “Partner and Asset Protection Investigator” Marc Stella inside the company’s posh office across from the Empire State Building.
