Starbucks Union

Judge draws clear line at tip jar in Starbucks case; small California businesses likely to be affected too07:15 PM PDT on Wednesday, April 2, 2008

By LOU HIRSH
The Press-Enterprise

Dipping into its
employees' tip jars could get Starbucks into hot water in other places
besides California, local legal experts said, and similar businesses
will need to take heed of issues raised in the high-profile civil suit
against the coffee giant.

Cynthia Germano, a labor lawyer
with Best Best & Krieger in Riverside, said the Starbucks dispute
puts a spotlight on California laws that have been on the books for
several years.

In the Summer of 2006 Union Baristas in NYC and the Center for Science in
the Public expressed their concern over the massive amount of calories in Starbucks drinks and pastries.  The Union was horrified at chalk boards recommending a Venti Banana Coconut Frappuccino and a banana nut bar which together equated over 1000 calories. 

The Union called on Starbucks to display calorie content to all.  People need to know what they are putting in their bodies. 

Today that demand is almost a reality. The NYC Health Department has mandated all restaurants to list their calorie data as a means of fighting obesity.  The Restaurant industry is challenging the order and the Health Department has agreed to push back the deadline to April 15th and wait for a court decision. 

The SWU calls on Starbucks to provide the Nutrition Information Regardless. 

Starbucks has previously stated   “We believe nutrition information should be
readily available.”  but now they are back peddling and released a statement saying “Starbucks will be
fully compliant with the regulation when it goes into effect.”

SEATTLE (AP) — Starbucks Corp. plans to appeal a San Diego Superior
Court ruling last week that ordered the coffee chain to compensate
California baristas for tips they shared with shift supervisors.

"The
ruling would take away the right of shift supervisors to receive the
tips they earn for providing superior customer service," said Chief
Executive Howard Schultz, in a voicemail message to employees Wednesday
night. "I want you to know that we strongly believe that this ruling is
extremely unfair and beyond reason."

In the message, a transcript
of which was released by Starbucks, Schultz said the media "grossly
mischaracterized" the coffee chain's standard practice of allowing
shift supervisors to share in tips left for baristas.

"We would
never condone any type of behavior that would lead anyone to conclude
that we would take money from our people," he said.

Schultz vowed
that the company would appeal the ruling and defend itself against two
similar lawsuits filed this week in Minnesota and Massachusetts.

By Haim Bior, Haaretz Correspondent

The
Histadrut labor federation and the coffee shop chain "The Coffee Bean"
signed a labor agreement on Tuesday, ending a long dispute between the
company's employees in the 14 branches nationwide and the management.



This marks the first collective agreement between the Histadrut and a restaurant.

The agreement will allocate 10 percent of the chain's yearly profit
to its employees. In addition, an employee who works for at least a
year in the chain will receive benefits reaching between half their
salary and a full salary.