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Submitted on Wed, 02/27/2008 - 4:05pm
For Immediate Release:
IWW Starbucks Workers Union
February 26, 2008
Starbucks Baristas Question Substance of National Shutdown for "Training"
New York, NY- As Starbucks stores around the United States reopen after a three hour shutdown to train employees, baristas of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union are calling into question the efficacy of the event. Union baristas left the "training" feeling like it was a public relations event directed at consumers rather than a bona fide attempt to improve drink quality or customer service.
“The whole thing seemed a little silly to me,” said Starbucks barista Peter Montalbano on his way out of the training. “We supposedly learned how to build a latte ‘from the espresso up,’- but we’re still pulling shots from a push-button espresso machine and pouring them into paper cups for not much above the minimum wage. It’s difficult to imagine people really caring about crafting the ‘perfect cappuccino’ if they can’t even afford to pay their bills."
Submitted on Wed, 02/06/2008 - 3:11pm
Linchpin #2 (Canada)
The history of the working class is a history of remarkable innovation and constant renewal. Whenever the bosses think they have buried forever the threat of workers' revolt, workers find, time and again, the means to fight back. Today, the recent blooming of resistance among workers in the low-wage service-sector is one important sign of a renewed struggle against the bosses and their system, writes Lucian.
For decades companies in the service - sector, whether they be giants such as Wal-Mart or smaller locally-owned businesses, have been able to hyper-exploit workers imposing low-wages, irregular schedules, temporary work, unsafe working conditions, harassment and discrimination while racking in super-profits.
Submitted on Tue, 01/29/2008 - 1:35pm
Andrew Serwer
Managing Editor
Fortune Magazine
1 Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019
January 28, 2008
Dear Mr. Serwer,
I take serious issue with the erroneous information regarding
Starbucks in Fortune Magazine's 2008 '100 Best Companies to Work For'.
I am especially concerned about the reliability of Fortune given that
the IWW Starbucks Workers Union wrote you an open letter
before the 2007 '100 Best Companies to Work For' feature that pointed
out the very same misinformation which you proceeded to include once
again in the 2008 list.
The 2008 'Best Companies to Work For' list claims that the most
common hourly job at Starbucks is a mysterious position called
"Coordinator III" which takes in $37,390 per year. Once again, the most
common hourly job at Starbucks, by far, is a position called "Barista"
which likely takes in approximately $12,000 per year on average. The
precise average pay for baristas is not known since Starbucks refuses
to make that information public.
Submitted on Thu, 01/10/2008 - 3:17pm
By KRIS MAHER, Wall Street Journal - January 9, 2008
A series of emails by Starbucks Corp. managers sheds light on the
company's efforts to thwart union organizing among its baristas.
The emails, which are part of a labor-dispute proceeding in New York
and were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, open a rare window onto
the company's labor relations practices. Labor experts not involved
with the case said the activity is not illegal. But the emails could
prove embarrassing because they show managers using various methods to
identify pro-union employees.
Submitted on Tue, 01/01/2008 - 3:01pm
Starbucks' Communique Followed by the Statement of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union
Thank you for contacting Starbucks Coffee Company. We appreciate your writing to us with your concerns about holiday pay for our partners (employees) working on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
