Industrial Workers of the World - Omaha GMB

Stand Up for Sasha McCoy! Mother, Student, Starbucks Barista, IWW Unionist.

IWW.org Editor — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:16:18 +0000

Last month, Tiffany White,an African American mother of two, and union leader and organizer with the Industrial Workers of the World Starbucks Workers Union, was terminated without justification from a New York Starbucks.

The practice of targeting female union members continues in Nebraska, with recent threats to union organizer Sasha McCoy. McCoy, also an African American mother of two,was recently threatened with termination when she reduced her availability at the 15th and Douglas Starbucks so she could return to school to pursue a B.S. in biology.

McCoy's new schedule meets all of the requirements outlined in the corporate scheduling policy. McCoy also spoke with representatives from Partner Resources, the H.R. branch of the Starbucks Corporation, who informed McCoy that her new availability met the company's requirements.

Despite her efforts to follow proper procedure, McCoy was told by manager Scott Creed that if she did not add an additional 30 minutes to her weekly availability, she would be terminated after four years of service to the Starbucks corporation.

"I feel like I am being targeted right now because I am part of the union," says McCoy. "My commitment to my job was never questioned until I joined the union. I'm a single mother working to put myself through college on my own so I can improve my life for my family. A company that claims to support women in the workplace is threatening to put me out of a job over half an hour. This has nothing to do with my availability and everything to do with my union."

On the 14th of August members of the Industrial Workers of the World Nebraska General Membership Branch confronted Creed with an Unfair Labor Practice charge, alleging intimidation to union members for his threat to fire McCoy. Two months ago, Starbucks settled three Unfair Labor Practice charges regarding anti union practices that had taken place at the 15th and Douglas and 72nd and Dodge Starbucks locations in Omaha.

Second Update on the IWW Open Harvest Workers Union Campaign

x370903 — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:28:11 +0000

The Nebraska Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and the newly-formed Open Harvest Workers' Union have been engaged in a month long struggle to improve treatment and compensation of workers at Open Harvest Cooperative Grocery in Lincoln. On Monday, January 3rd, the Nebraska IWW met with the Open Harvest board of directors. We presented a list of 5 demands, which the board agreed to address. In fact, we left the meeting feeling somewhat optimistic, as the board declared at that meeting that the current grievance policy was not compliant with their policies on fair treatment of workers.

Subsequently the board ruled that the general manager was to formulate a new, compliant grievance policy. We considered this to be a small victory as one of our demands was the complete overhaul of the grievance procedure. We previously stated that the existing grievance policy was unfair and intimidating because it forced the worker, who may very well have a grievance with management, to address part of management - the general manager - with any grievance and the general manager is given the power to throw out any grievance he or she felt was without merit, instead of passing it on to a board of directors committee for review. We argued that a fair grievance policy should bypass management altogether and go to a "grievance committee", a committee which should include members of the board and at least one democratically-elected peer (a non-management worker).

Our impression following the meeting was that most of the board members were sympathetic to this proposal and the rest of our demands (in fact a couple even stated so in private to us after the meeting). Our other demands are as follows: the reinstatement of IWW member Andrew Losh until his grievance is reviewed by a grievance committee; that board positions be made available to workers (a growing trend with progressive co-ops); wage increases for workers (workers currently start out at minimum wage and are given little opportunity for advancement, our goal is a living wage and benefits for all co-op workers); and full-time hours/benefits made available to non-management workers (currently only management receive full-time hours and insurance benefits). For more on this meeting see this article: http://www.iww.org/en/node/5312

Unfortunately our optimism soon began to fade. All demands, except the first one, were not given a concrete deadline, all we asked was that progress be made; but we did set a one week deadline for our first demand - the reinstatement of IWW member, Andrew Losh. This deadline (Jan. 1, 2011) came and went, so we announced our intent to picket the co-op in order to further expose the problems at the co-op and to encourage swifter action from the co-op bureaucracy.

Nebraska Starbucks Workers Union demands reinstatement of unjustly terminated barista and organizer Tyler Swain

x370903 — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 22:17:41 +0000

The IWW Nebraska General Membership Branch (GMB) files Unfair Labor Practice charging Starbucks Coffee Company with violating Labor Law.

Starbucks Workers Union (Industrial Workers of the World) contact: Samantha Cole (402)669-8479

Omaha- The Starbucks Workers Union is demanding the reinstatement of former employee and union member Tyler Swain after being unjustly terminated.

On Thursday December 30, 2010 Tyler Swain was terminated from his position as a shift supervisor by the downtown Starbucks store manager Scott Creed for ‘insubordination’.

Co-worker and union member Samantha Cole argues otherwise and says that the Starbucks Coffee Company has had a bulls-eye on Swain since they formed the Nebraska Starbucks Workers Union in August. Cole stated, “Tyler has always been a model employee and takes great pride in his job and his relationships he’s developed with our regular customers. Starbucks has been desperately trying to find a reason to get rid of Tyler since we went public with our union and started organizing our district.” She added that, “Customers have noticed and asked where he is. When I tell them that he was terminated they are surprised and say that he is always so friendly and never would have guessed he would be fired for being a bad employee. However, one customer who comes in on a regular basis and had made negative remarks to us when we went public with our union said ‘that’s what he gets for trying to start a union’”.

The Nebraska Starbucks Workers Union went public with their union and organizing drive on August 6th, 2010 by walking off the job and presenting then District Manager Jennifer Rojas with a list of demands which included increasing wages above poverty rates, an inclement weather plan for the district, consistent scheduling and fully stocked First Aid kit in the store as per OSHA regulations among other things.

Union member Sasha McCoy says that Starbucks has been focused on causing discontent among the workers at 15th and Douglas Starbucks by manufacturing lies about Swain. “Shortly after we presented Jenny with our list of demands and went public with our desire to organize a union, Starbucks has been actively trying to accuse Tyler of a number of unethical charges. The Human Resources Department was even accusing Tyler of sexual harrasment when there was nothing like that going on. These charges were absolutely absurd. They were trying to take the focus off of our demands and desire to organize a union and onto make believe charges against Tyler,” said McCoy.

Update on the IWW’s Open Harvest Campaign

x370903 — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:04:41 +0000

Monday, January 3rd, the Nebraska Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) sat in on the Open Harvest board of directors meeting. We were given an opportunity to speak toward the end of the meeting and present our list of demands, which are as follows:

1. The reinstatement of employment for Andrew Losh, who was unjustly terminated for failing to meet an unspecified production quota. This quota was continually raised as Andrew’s production increased. His firing was preceded by two write-ups which were contested and ignored by his direct management. These write-ups were unjustified and have been provided as examples of management abuse of employees.

2. Overhaul of the grievance procedure. The current grievance procedure mandates that employees approach the general manager with their grievance. The general manager then decides if the grievance has merit and if so submits it to the grievance committee, i.e. a subset of the board of directors. Not only is this policy extremely intimidating to employees, considering that their grievance may often be with management – which the general manager is a part of, but it essentially gives the general manager veto power over employee grievances. We have asked that a new grievance procedure be implemented, one in which an employee can present their grievance directly to the grievance committee, which should include at least one of their peers – a rank and file worker, elected to the committee by their peers (currently the grievance committee is only four executive board members).

3. Board positions be made available to employees. Currently Open Harvest restricts employees from being on the board of directors – this is not common to all cooperatives, in fact many now allow their employees to take part in this important aspect of running the store. By barring employees from running on the board, a rigid top down hierarchy is ensured, like you would find in any for-profit grocer. As a democratic union, we feel that workers should be allowed to take part in the democratic process of managing and maintaining the coop. Some board members expressed concerns that this may present a conflict of interest. The IWW rebutted this claim by pointing out that the board is comprised of members who have an interest in the store’s prices and at least one supplier is on the board – in these respects there is already a conflict of interest. The best way to manage the coop is to get input from a variety of perspectives: members, consumers, suppliers and workers.

4. A living wage for employees. Open Harvest starts its workers at minimum wage and many employees are kept near this level of pay indefinitely. We find it hypocritical for a store which espouses the ethic of fair trade to pay its workers poverty wages. We think those who work at Open Harvest should also be able to afford to shop there and pay their bills, afford adequate housing, etc. Eating healthy organic food should not be a privilege reserved for the wealthiest in our society. Open Harvest should not simply compare its pay to that of local for-profit businesses. The member owned coop must hold itself to a higher ethical standard.

5. More hours be made available to employees, especially those who want full time benefits. Open Harvest circumvents having to provide non-management employees with benefits by restricting their hours to below full-time (less than 36 hours a week). In contrast management receives a benefits package. We think a progressive coop should certainly be ahead of our nation as it slowly stumbles toward providing health care coverage for all.

A one week deadline was given in which we expect our first demand to be fulfilled and definitive progress to be made on the other four demands. If these demands are not met by January 10, 2011 at 12:00 PM we will escalate our campaign to the next step which may include pickets, boycotts or strikes and the filing of an unfair labor practice with the National Labor Relations Board.

Two of our demands were being addressed at the meeting before we even had a chance to speak. One being coop policy L2 which pertains to treatment of staff, included in L2 is the absurd grievance policy; the other being policy L3 which pertains to pay and benefits of staff.

Due to our efforts, the grievance policy was addressed and ruled by the board to not be in compliance with policy L2, which states that employees must receive a fair and thorough review. They agreed that it was indeed intimidating to require approaching the general manager about grievances.

Unfortunately the board ruled that employee compensation was compliant with their policy L3, as that policy dictates that Open Harvest’s employee pay should be comparable to other local area grocers, such as Trader Joe’s, Russ’s Market, Super Saver, etc. Obviously this neglects the fact that Open Harvest is fundamentally different from these for-profit businesses. As a member-owned coop, it does not operate solely to make profits and is also held to higher standard of ethics by its member owners and patrons. The board did state however, that it is planning to review L3 next month and there was some support for holding Open Harvest to a higher standard. We are hoping the pressure we have put on them will expedite this process and get the employees a livable wage as soon as possible.

Letter to all Open Harvest patrons, members and workers:

x370903 — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 23:45:48 +0000

Some of you may have heard the hubbub about the recent firing of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) member, Andrew Losh, from Open Harvest Cooperative Grocery. Losh was reportedly fired for not meeting an unspecified work quota that was continually raised as his production level did. He also reported several instances of worker mistreatment by the management. His firing and the subsequent campaign being waged by the IWW to have his job re-instated has highlighted some incongruencies in the practices and overall ethos of Open Harvest.

In their mission statement Open Harvest claims to stand for a number of progressive values: sustainable agriculture, equal opportunity employment, and support of local producers. Conspicuously absent from this litany of values is a dedication to providing a livable wage and benefits to workers, workplace democracy and other worker rights issues. As many progressives will agree, democracy is a fundamental value; democratic management mustn’t be limited to the political sphere, it should extend to all arenas of social life including the workplace. Judging from the practices of Open Harvest this is not a value they share. In fact, Open Harvest does not allow workers to have a voice in the workplace or allow them to be on the board of directors, thus ensuring a top-down hierarchy in the work environment that you would expect to find in any mainstream grocery store; this is not typical of cooperative grocers. Another value I would suspect many patrons and members hold is the belief that all workers should receive benefits and a livable wage. Again, Open Harvest does not seem to be dedicated to this value. The average entry-level wage for workers at Open Harvest is the nation’s minimum allowed: $7.25 per hour (via secret worker poll) and Open Harvest circumvents having to provide benefits by making sure that all non-management employees work under what is designated to be “full time”. To further illustrate the situation of inequality it should be pointed out that the Open Harvest management does receive benefits.

Fired Nebraska IWW Baker Demands Reinstatement with Back Pay

x370903 — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 12:39:26 +0000

On December 18th, 2010, members of the Industrial Workers of the World  (IWW) and community supporters walked into the Open Harvest Natural Foods Cooperative Grocery’and presented management with a petition signed by supporters  and a letter demanding that IWW baker Andrew Losh be reinstated with  back wages for time missed.

“I love working at Open Harvest and I support their goals of providing  the community with sustainable and organic food,” Andrew Losh stated.  “I get along with my coworkers and enjoy interacting with all the  great customers that shop there on a regular basis,” he continued.  “But it seems as if the relationships between the management and the  employees have gone downhill lately.”

Losh was fired by his manager, Nancy Sauer, on December 3rd for not  maintaining an unspecified work pace. According to Losh, Sauer has a  history of treating employees unfairly.

On October 20th, 2010, Losh took a shift off. Despite giving notice  a month in advance, posting a request for a co-worker to take the  hours, and ultimately getting oral approval from his manager, Losh  was written up immediately upon return for not giving prior proper  notice. Losh contested this with his manager and a co-worker who  witnessed the approval verified his account. Yet this warning remained  in his file.

Community supporter and Open Harvest customer Jason Nord explained, “I  support Andrew's demand to be reinstated. I think it's important that  Open Harvest stay consistent with the values of an organic grocery  consumer co-op and not treat their employees in the same fashion any  other retail store does.”

According to a current employee at Open Harvest, who asked not to be  named out of fear of retaliation by management, “I feel like a large  part of the management here doesn't really respect us (the  employees).”

Take Action to Defend IWW Baristas in Omaha!

x344543 — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 08:05:17 +0000

Since Starbucks baristas at the 15th and Douglas store in Omaha announced their membership in the IWW one month ago, Starbucks has unleashed an aggressive union busting campaign on the workers with a particularly extreme effort to intimidate and threaten FW Tyler Swain.

In response to this, all members of the Omaha SWU have voted unanimously to send out an appeal for solidarity to the broader IWW and labor movement. Please show Starbucks that an injury to one is an injury to all by taking the following actions:

1. Call Partner Resources Representative Shari Rugi, (314)607-4180

Shari Rugi is coordinating a campaign of intimidation and harassment against union members at the 15th and Douglas Starbucks. This intimidation has included fabrication of sexual harassment allegations and interrogation of union members at the store over these accusations concocted by management. Furthermore, Shari Rugi as directed the store manager at 15th and Douglas, Missy Kemp, to tighten policy and increase disciplinary actions against workers, in particular against FW Tyler Swain. Rugi has forced Store Manager Missy Kemp to write up FW Tyler Swain twice since going public for alleged violations of policy, contriving allegations of insubordination, and illegally tightening the time and attendance policy. weeks after these alleged violations have occurred. Union members at the 15th and Douglas location have, on multiple occasions, overheard conversations taking place between the store manager, Missy Kemp, and the partner resource manager, Shari Rugi, in which she has insisted FW Swain be written up for these alleged infractions, regardless of the store managers opinion of the events.

It's time to let Shari Rugi know that we as an organization will not tolerate the unfair and discriminatory treatment of public union members, and that we, as a global organization are well aware of her actions.

2. Call District Manager Jennifer Rojas, (402)319-2760

The District Manager has repeatedly disrespected workers in her area.

Based upon this level of disrespect, the final demand in the letter presented to management, including the 15th and Douglas store manager Missy Kemp, district manager Jennifer Rojas, and Regional Director of Operations Brett Battes, was a request that Jennifer Rojas resign from her position. A month after the delivery no mention of this demand has been made, despite targeted attempts to separate public union members from the company. It's time to let Jennifer Rojas know that her disrespect to workers in her area does not go unnoticed, and that she needs to be working for noticeable improvements in the working environment she oversees or resign immediately. Specific demands are:

the immediate back pay of wages owed to FW Samantha Cole which were promised to her the morning of August 6th in a phone conversation that took place between Jennifer Rojas and Samantha Cole,
an open and cooperative dialogue between levels of management and the Starbucks Workers Union,
an open environment for members of the union to organize without fear of retaliation,
and an increased effort to put into place the district wide 20 percent wage increase that the union is fighting for.

Squeezed Baristas Shut Down 15th and Douglas Starbucks to Protest Cutbacks

x344543 — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:23:08 +0000

Omaha, NE- Baristas and community supporters shut down the 15th and Douglas Starbucks (SBUX) this morning demanding that management reverse all cuts to healthcare, staffing, and benefits that have been imposed during the recession. The baristas claim that executives have no justification to squeeze working families with Starbucks raking in profits of $977.2 million in the past four fiscal quarters.

"We are being squeezed, and we can't take it any more. Since the recession began, Starbucks executives have ruthlessly gutted our standard of living. They doubled the cost of our health insurance, reduced staffing levels, cut our hours, all while demanding more work from us. Starbucks is now more than profitable again. It's time for management to give back what they took from us," said Sasha McCoy, a shift supervisor at the store.

Since the onset of the recession, Starbucks imposed a series of deep cuts on its workforce. Starting in 2008 as the economic downturn began, the coffee giant shuttered over 800 stores and slashed over 18000 jobs. The remaining skeleton crew workforce was stretched out, forced to push VIA and other promotional products while keeping the stores running with insufficient staffing levels. CEO Howard Schultz then doubled the cost of the company health insurance plan in September 2009, leaving many workers unable to afford medical treatment because of sky-high deductibles and premiums. While the cuts continue, Starbucks made a record profit of $207.9 million in the last quarter according to company figures.

The protesting baristas are members of the Starbucks Workers Union, which is an international campaign of the Industrial Workers of the World labor union. The store action makes the 15th and Douglas location the first Starbucks in Nebraska to have a public union presence. The workers decided to move to unionize after watching their standard of living be whittled away while top executives chose to reward investors with dividends.