Starbucks Union

Vous êtes sur le site officiel des Travailleurs Industriels du Monde. Ici vous trouverez à peu près tout ce dont vous avez besoin pour rejoindre l'IWW et commencer à organiser vos lieux de travail et construire un grand syndicat au sein de votre communauté. La plupart des informations contenues ici traitent des Etats-unis et du Canada, mais nous avons aussi des liens vers d.autres sites IWW gérés ailleurs. L'IWW est une organisation syndicale pour tous les travailleurs, un syndicat dédié à l'organisation des travailleurs sur leur lieu de travail, dans leurs industries et leurs communautés. Les membres des IWW organisent les travailleurs pour obtenir de meilleures conditions aujourd.hui et construisent pour demain un monde économique démocratique. Nous voulons que nos entreprises fonctionnent au profit des ouvriers et des communautés plutôt que pour une poignée de patrons et leur exécutif. Nous sommes les Travailleurs Industriels du Monde parce que nous nous organisons industriellement. Ceci signifie que nous organisons tous les travailleurs produisant les mêmes biens ou fournissant les mêmes services dans un syndicat, plutôt que de les diviser par secteurs d.activité, ainsi nous pouvons mettre en commun notre force et faire triompher nos revendications ensemble. Depuis que l'IWW a été fondé en 1905, nous avons apporté des contributions significatives aux combats des travailleurs à travers le monde et nous sommes fiers de notre tradition visant à nous organiser indépendamment de critères sexuels, ethniques et raciaux bien avant que de telles méthodes soient courantes.lire plus

The image at the right was taken in 2004 Once again a step ahead of intermodal truckers across the US, Stockton truckers, led by the majority Sikh drivers, launched a strike over the issue of fuel prices on Monday, May 5, 2008. While many truckers participated in various protest shutdowns on either April 1st or May 1st this year, the 300-400 Stockton truckers working out of the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern-Santa Fe railyards have shut down their industry until their demands have been met. Rather than demand the fuel surcharges paid by shippers but often pocketed by companies rather than passed along to drivers, the Stockton truckers are asking for a dramatic increase in the rates paid in order to keep up with increases costs such as fuel. On April 26, 2004 Stockton intermodal truckers, inspired by rumors circulating of an LA port trucker shutdown, were the first to join what became a strike of west cost port truckers on April 30, and by June had spread to most southern and eastern ports as well. read more

By Reed Fujii - San Joaquin Record Staff Writer, May 06, 2008 For the second time in four years, hundreds of independent truck drivers went on strike Monday against companies that hire them to haul cargo containers out of railroad terminals near Stockton. And again, as in 2004, the issue was the failure of freight rates to keep up with rapidly rising fuel prices. Ajit Gill of Stockton, a truck owner-operator and a spokesman for strikers, said the truckers face fuel costs that have more than doubled since 2004, as well as higher costs for insurance, stiffer inspection fees and more. But freight rates have not kept pace. "There is nothing raised," he said Monday by cell phone. The drivers would prefer to keep working, if it was practical. "Unfortunately, we have to stop," Gill said. "Nobody can afford $4.35 diesel." read more

Disclaimer: The action described here was not organized by the IWW. By Francine Brevetti - staff writer, inside bayarea.com, May 6, 2008 OAKLAND — About 80 striking truckers from Middle Harbor Road at the Port of Oakland were ticketed and dispersed Tuesday after some of them committed vandalism, police said. Some drivers had damaged a truck's window while the driver was operating the rig, Sgt. Peter Lau said. Nevertheless, the protesting truck drivers who own and operate their own rigs vowed to continue demonstrating at the port for the rest of the week. They say motor carrier firms have been underpaying them for diesel fuel.read more

By Jim Crutchfield, IWW NYC GMB - Industrial Worker, May 2008 Members of the New York City IWW branch attended a rally on April 1 at a truck stop on the New Jersey Turnpike, where an estimated 300 drivers, mostly owner-operators, met to protest fuel price gouging and address the media. The rally was part of a nationwide work stoppage by truckers that reportedly shut down several major ports on the East and West Coasts and turned highways around Chicago into parking lots. Drivers from as far away as Florida were present at the New Jersey gathering, along with many drivers’ family members and other supporters. Two Wobblies addressed the crowd and were warmly received. The union collected contact information from nearly 100 drivers, many of whom expressed great enthusiasm for continuing their agitation and solidifying their organization. read more

Industrial Worker, May 2008. On April 1, troqueros from New Jersey rallied on the New Jersey turnpike. On April 3, Houston followed. Truck drivers across the country participated in scattered actions to protest rising diesel fuel prices. The price of diesel across the United States has risen by 21 per cent since the end of December 2007, from $3.35 to $4.05 per gallon, according to the US Energy Information Administration. A month before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the price of diesel was $1.71 per gallon. read more

On May 17, join the IWW Starbucks Workers Union and allies around the world to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the union's founding in a Day of Action. 2008 is the 40th anniversary of the slaying of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., felled by a sniper's bullet as he stood in solidarity with sanitation workers striking for the right to form a labor union. As a rabidly anti-union, poverty wage employer, Starbucks represents the unbridled greed and exploitation that King opposed. Indeed, the Starbucks Corporation demeans Dr. King's legacy by treating his federal holiday like a second-class occasion as it fails to pay the premium it pays on several other holidays on Dr. King's day. If Starbucks is really interested in "embracing diversity", it can start by respecting Dr. King's holiday. read more

Please keep calling City Bakery; apparently it has cut off the general manager's extension! You can call at (212) 366-1414 and then just press 0 and ask for a manager. Please send the revised call to action below to your lists, otherwise folks won't be able to get through: The City Bakery chain enjoys an image of being a "green" and "socially conscious" business. Yet, the City Bakery NY sells seafood from labor rights violator, Wild Edibles, Inc. Given City Bakery's progressive image, current and former Wild Edibles workers were surprised when owner Maury Rubin refused to even enter into a dialogue regarding the hardships they face. read more

Headlines:

• Harvest Co-op fires 2 in Massachusetts
• Diesel price rally hits New Jersey turnpike
• Union rivalry leads to clash at Labor Notes conference

Featured Articles:

• No-Match letters a wedge between workers
• China coal profits cost blood and bone
• Argentina: Zanón workers took union, before factory

Download a free PDF copy of this issue.

By DAVID TABER - Jamaica Plain Gazette, May 2, 2008 SOUTH ST.—Two workers who were fired from the Jamaica Plain store of Harvest Co-op Markets in the last six months claim they were terminated for expressing support for union organizing efforts at the nonprofit supermarket. Harvest denies their accusations. Diego Bencosme and Deon Furtick had both worked at Harvest for close to four years. They were both fired for failing to punch out when they went off shift—a rule they claim was rarely, if ever, enforced during their tenures. They were fired without prior warnings, they said. Both say they were fired because of their support for a current effort by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) to organize at Harvest. Both have filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board. read more

By By Alex Kane - The Indypendent, May 2, 2008 Brooklyn, New York—Around 150 people marched across the Brooklyn Bridge with Make the Road New York and the Industrial Workers of the World NYC Branch for a May Day immigrant rights demonstration. Flanked by red and black Wobbly flags and signs that read “Opportunity for Immigrant Workers,” the demonstrators chanted slogans like “Si se puede,” and “El pueblo, unido, jamas tera vencido.” There was a boisterous rally held before the march at Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn, with music, dancing and chanting. One song’s lyrics, roughly translated, said “we will overcome misery” and “we’ll have to break the chains.” read more

iu530 Members of the IWW call on North American truckers to unite together and shutdown on May 1, 2008. Drivers in North America move the goods that make the economy work. They are treated like nothing by those who depend on them, the companies and the government. They have been used and abused. They have sucked dry by the economic powers in order to create profit that they never see. For many the rates have not increased in years, except after the 2004 Intermodal strikes, and now increasing fuel prices are taking money North American OTR drivers are exploited by the brokers. The brokers are clearly running a racket that claims their drivers are independent businesses with their own decision-making powers. But it is obvious that they are deferring the risks of their own enterprise onto unsuspecting drivers, who cannot pay the minimum of expenses to operate. read more

From: Teresa Gutierrez Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 9:37 AM Subject: Truck Drivers & May Day We are excited to report that a truck will be leading the May Day March from Union Square to Foley Square tomorrow. This is great news to show our solidarity among all workers of all nationalities, documented, undocumented or born in the U.S. For Immediate Release: Transportation Workers Coalition for Change Contact: Billy Randel, 646-645-6284 New Jersey Port Truckers to Strike Over Fuel and Energy Costs Workers Will Rally Off the New Jersey Turnpike in Large Work Stoppage. WHAT: Port truckers will stop work for two days to protest rising fuel and energy costs. read more

The International Solidarity Commission of the Industrial Workers of the World is sending a delegation of five workers to Haiti to meet with labor groups and observe conditions in the country. We'll be there from April 23 to May 5, 2008. This blog will record the delegation's experiences and impressions. The link to the blog is iwwinhaiti.blogspot.com. Check it regularly for updates! read more

For Immediate Release: Brandworkers International Contact: press (at) brandworkers.org Press Conference and Rally: Workers Will Ask Judge to Hold Wild Edibles in Contempt of Court Over Retaliatory Firings Workplace Justice Campaign Has Persuaded Over Twenty of NYC's Most Well-Known Fine Dining Restaurants to Steer Clear of Wild Edibles COMPELLING VISUALS: Spirited Chanting Workers - Vibrant Signs and Banners What:read more

For Immediate Release IWW Starbucks Workers Union, StarbucksUnion.org Contact: starbucksunion (at) yahoo.com Union Alleges that the Embattled Coffee Giant is Violating a Settlement Agreement Grand Rapids, MI (04/15/2008)- As Starbucks awaits the decision in a trial over 30-plus unfair labor practices in New York City, the IWW Starbucks Workers Union has filed labor charges against the company in Michigan. These new charges come less than a year since Starbucks signed a settlement agreement with the National Labor Relations Board pledging to refrain from unlawful anti-union intimidation in Grand Rapids. Baristas say Starbucks anti-union activity has continued unabated since the agreement. The new charges included alleged violations of the settlement agreement. read more

Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW. The image pictured to the right did not appear in the original article, we have added it here to provide a visual perspective. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines. By Staughton Lynd - WORKING USA, March 2008 What is the problem? What needs to be set right? The mother of all wrong solutions is card-check voting, which would give more access to unorganized workers for the same top-down unions, with the same unaccountability to the membership because of the dues checkoff, with the same ever-readiness to give up the right to strike. Equally misguided in my view is the notion that Taft-Hartley represented a decisive turning point and that its repeal would release the original pristine impulse of the Congress of Industrial Organizations to flower again. All major trade union leaders beginning with John L. Lewis have devised means whereby workers would give up the right to collective self-activity embodied in Section 7 in exchange for a mess of pottage. So we, labor lawyers and labor historians, can only begin to be useful when we forego our endless apologies for the latest hoped-for "progressive" union leader. Our task is to envision an institutional" "embodiment of the class self-activity discovered and imagined by E.P. Thompson and colleagues and partially realized by the IWW in work that desperately needs updating." The new worldwide movement against "globalization," meaning, U.S. imperialism, and for a better day, has come up with a defining slogan: Another World Is Possible. The words remind us that a social movement is unlikely to bring about what it does not even try to achieve. Current efforts to revive the labor movement in the U.S. define their objectives so narrowly, that even if successful, they would not change anything fundamental. read more

A group of Latino workers, at the Twin Cities-based D’Amico’s & Sons restaurant chain have organized and taken direct action to resist being fired for receiving “No-Match” letters from the Social Security Administration. The workers ­ many who have well over a decade of service for the company ­ have been joined by family members, some co-workers, the Workers Interfaith Network (WIN), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Twin Cities General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.) and others. D’Amico’s announced that Monday, March 31, 2008 would be the last day of work for 17 employees who had received the “no-match” letters. This appears to be illegal as the Social Security’s “no-match” notices explicitly state that employers should take no “adverse action” against employees based on these letters. “No-match” means a problem has been identified with a worker’s name and social security number not matching. Sometimes this can be due to immigration status, other times a simple typo can trigger the letter. In any case, the legal precedent has been that it was up to employees to correct the issue and not employers. A California Federal Court halted attempts by the Bush administration to penalize employers for having workers with “no-match” letters. read more

For Immediate Release: Brandworkers International Contact: press (at) brandworkers.org - April 7, 2008 Giorgione Drops Wild Edibles Amid Escalating Labor Dispute Immigrant Workers Seeking to Improve Large Seafood Company Score Another Victory New York, NY- Employees at Wild Edibles have chalked up a gain in their effort to win unlawfully withheld overtime pay and a voice at work with the decision of highly-regarded Italian restaurants, Giorgione and Giorgione 508, to refrain from purchasing Wild Edibles seafood until workers' grievances are fairly resolved. Giorgione joins leading New York restaurants including Pastis, Union Square Cafe, La Goulue, Mermaid Inn, and Sushi Samba that have previously pulled out of Wild Edibles over concern for the treatment of employees there. read more

Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW. The image pictured to the right did not appear in the original article, we have added it here to provide a visual perspective. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines. By Amy Zimmer - Metro New York, APR 4, 2008 MANHATTAN. The lawsuits against Starbucks — still steamed from a recent ruling by a California judge ordering to pay more than $100 million in tips and interests to baristas — are frothing over. Jeana Barenboim, 22, a former barista at a Forest Hills Starbucks, filed a federal lawsuit against the coffee giant yesterday in the Southern District of New York. A similar suit was filed last week in Boston. Like the California case, these former baristas claim they were forced to share tips with shift supervisors. read more