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 Thu, 08/17/2006 - 7:48am
Unterstützung für Call Center ArbeiterInnen in Melbourne. Rund 15 Leute folgten einem Aufruf der Kölner IWW und protestieren am Dienstag, den 15. August 2006 von 12.30 Uhr bis etwa 13.15 vor der Zentrale der Lufthansa AG an der Deutzer Brücke. An die Beschäftigten des Flugunternehmens, die zu diesem Zeitpunkt in die Mittagspause gingen oder aus selbiger kamen, wurden über 200 Flugblätter verteilt. Auf Schildern stand "Lufthansa / Global Tele Sales - Stop cutting wages!" und "Gegen das weltweite Lohndumping - Globale Solidarität". Die Aktion wurde beendet, nachdem die Lufthansa die Polizei gerufen hatte, die mit zwei Streifen anrückte. Wir wollten ohnehin gerade aufbrechen.
Was sind die Hintergründe?
Die Lufthansa-Tochter "Global Tele Sales" (GTS) betreibt weltweit die Call-Center für die Lufthansa AG. In Melbourne versucht das Unternehmen nun, eine reale Lohnkürzung von 15% durchzusetzen. Sie macht sich dabei die neuen arbeiter- und gewerkschaftsfeindlichen Gesetze zu Nutze, die von einer rechten Regierung gegen massive Proteste durchgesetzt wurden.
GTS ignoriert neuerdings den Tarifvertrag mit der Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft "Australian Service Union" (ASU) und bietet den 80 Angestellten des Melbourner Call Centers Einzelverträge an, die zum einen eine zehnprozentige Lohnkürzung beinhalten, desweiteren deutliche Verschlechterungen in Sachen Überstunden. Die Gewerkschaft errechnet insgesamt 15 % Lohneinbußen.
Wieso unterstützen wir ausgerechnet australische ArbeiterInnen?
a) Die Zentrale der Lufthansa Commercial Holding sitzt nun mal in Köln. Es wird die KollegInnen in Melbourne sehr freuen, unsere Unterstützung zu erfahren. Das Kapital agiert global. Wir sollten endlich nachziehen.
b) Der Streik bei Gate Gourmet in Düsseldorf und London-Heathrow hat gezeigt, dass im Bereich des Flugverkehrs der Klassenkampf von oben verschärft wird. Was heute in australischen Call-Centern passiert, kann jederzeit auf Betriebe in Europa übertragen werden. Da die Lufthansa (Gewinn 2005: 577 Millionen Euro) bis 2008 den Gewinn verdoppeln will, dürften weltweit andere arbeitnehmerfeindliche Maßnahmen folgen.
c) Wir haben von den Vorgängen in Melbourne über das International Solidarty Committee der I.W.W. via e-mail erfahren. Die ASU bat um Unterstützung.
Es handelt sich um die erste Aktion der Kölner Wobblies (IWW). Wir sehen - neben dem Aufbau einer kämpferischen Gewerkschaft vor Ort - die Stärkung der globalen Solidarität unter ArbeiterInnen als eins unsere wichtigsten Ziele.
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.
Submitted on Tue, 08/15/2006 - 12:34pm
Headlines:
- Starbucks fires 3 IWWs for union organizing
- 8 million U.S. workers may lose union rights
- The General Strike - By Staughton Lynd
Featured Articles:
- A new model for building international solidarity? Zapatistas call for grassroots, nonelectoral movement of communities in resistance.
- Growing workers’ rebellion knows no borders Bosses, who needs them? Chinese, South Korean & Serbian workers seize workplaces.
Also - more Starbucks organizing news.
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