Starbucks Union blogs

Jimmy John's Sandwich Workers Go Union with the Industrial Workers of the World!

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:12:51 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Jimmy Johns Workers Union (Industrial Workers of the World)

Contact: JimmyJohnsWorkers.org

September 2, 2010

First in Nation, Jimmy Johns Sandwich Workers Join Union to Increase Minimum Wage Pay

Fast Food Chain Rocked by Work Stoppages in Sign of Mounting Economic Frustration among US Workers

MINNEAPOLIS- Service was anything but 'freaky fast' at Jimmy Johns today as workers walked off the kitchen floor in an unprecedented move to demand improved wages and working conditions at nine Minneapolis franchise locations. Announcing the formation of the IWW Jimmy Johns Workers Union, the workers are seeking a pay increase to above minimum wage, consistent scheduling and minimum shift lengths, regularly scheduled breaks, sick days, no-nonsense workers compensation for job-related injuries, an end to sexual harassment at work, and basic fairness on the job.

“I have been working at Jimmy Johns for over two years and they still pay me minimum wage and schedule me one-hour shifts,” said Rikki Olsen, a union member at the Block E location. “I'm working my way through school and can barely make ends meet. I'd get another job, but things are just as bad across the service industry. Companies like Jimmy John's are profitable and growing, they need to provide quality jobs for the community.”

Help the IWW Starbucks Workers Union: Donate Toward Our Upcoming Conference

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 22:28:39 -0400

Dear Friends and Fellow Workers,

On May 17, 2004, Baristas at one Starbucks in New York City announced that they had formed a union affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World in order to fight for decent wages, consistent scheduling, sufficient hours, and an end to understaffing in the stores. Immediately, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sought to undermine the workers' solidarity through a campaign of intimidation, threats, retaliation, spying, and at times, outright bribery. The union took some hits: over the years, Starbucks fired over a dozen outspoken union supporters in New York, seeking to destroy the union. But against all odds, six years later our union is strong and growing. Our unique Solidarity Unionism approach, developed through the tenacity, courage, and sacrifice of dozens of union baristas, has enabled us to succeed where much larger unions have failed. We have established a foothold in the industry with the lowest union density in the United States. We now have members across North America, and have established ties with Starbucks workers across the world.

On MLK Day, Wobblies Demand Respect — For Themselves And For Dr. King

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:36:37 -0500

By Diane Krauthamer and Thomas Good

January 23, 2010

NEW YORK — “To show solidarity with our fellow workers and send a clear message to the bosses that we stand united against all forms of slavery,” the New York City branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) held its third annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day rally at the Union Square East Starbucks on January 18.

The union, joined by dozens of workers, community members and labor allies, called on the multibillion dollar company to commemorate Dr. King on this federal holiday by paying a holiday premium of time-and-a-half pay to baristas, just as the Seattle-based chain does for its baristas on five other federal holidays.

To press their demands for recognition of MLK Day, the “Wobblies” and their supporters gathered outside the Union Square East Starbucks at Noon as the sun began to break through the cloud cover.

A tall man with a booming voice stepped up and addressed his sisters and brothers.

Honor Dr. King's Legacy, Starbucks!

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:50:21 -0500

This speech was given on MLK Day in front of the Union Sq. East Starbucks in New York City by Union Barista and Organizer, Liberte Locke.

"Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
Everyone! Thank you for coming out today to honor Dr. King's legacy by
supporting workers struggling for change at their jobs. Today we are
out in front of my store. I've worked at Starbucks for over 3 years
and most of that time have worked alongside my coworkers, here and
throughout the U.S. and Canada, in the IWW Starbucks Workers Union for
better wages, more consistent scheduling, better working condition, and
especially more respect on the job. We have made serious strides, in
the five years of existence, we have gotten 3 pay increases in New York
City and have had many individual grievances with management worked out in
the favor of the workers. Though we still have a long battle ahead.

    In Dr. King's last days, in the midst of fighting injustice on
many fronts, he went to Memphis, Tennessee. Many remember that but
what most folks fail to remember is why exactly he was in Memphis to
begin with. Dr. King went to Memphis to support 1,100 black sanitation
workers that had gone on strike for job safety, better wages and
benefits, and union recognition.

    So when the CEO of one of the biggest union busting companies in
the world, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, has the nerve to say that Dr.
King would quote "be proud of what we are able to provide people all
over the world, everyday" end quote, one has to laugh.

    What are we providing, Howard? Overpriced coffee that has
turned into a mass status symbol. That white and green cup alluring
people into thousands of Starbucks everyday and robbing them of their
hard-earned cash with deceptive promises of using their money for
socially responsible means. Howard wants customers to believe that Dr.
King would have loved Starbucks. Howard wants you to believe that even
though the vast majority of coffee that Starbucks sells isn't fairly
traded, that the farmers are treated well regardless. They also want
you to believe that baristas are given high wages, excellent benefits,
and treated like royalty.

    In the Starbucks Workers Union we found through a delegation to
a coffee farm in Ethiopia that was growing Starbucks coffee, that
farmers are not well compensated for their labor. Farmers were
disgusted to learn that Starbucks was telling the world about how well
they were paid when entire families were living in poverty. And as for
baristas, the majority of Starbucks baristas in the U.S. are making
minimum wage. And in Santiago, Chile - where another union for
Starbucks Baristas began last year, baristas are making less in one
hour than they are selling a small cappucino for in their stores.
While Howard Schultz gave himself a $1.3 Million dollar raise and
raised drink prices drastically, the company made deeper cuts on labor
hours as a "thank you" for our hard labor that is responsible for
keeping this company afloat. People always say, 'at least you have
benefits'...well, Starbucks insures less of it's workforce than often
criticized Walmart. And in order to recieve benefits we must pay large
out of pocket fees and high deductibles and that's if we are given
enough hours to qualify and with the slashing of hours, many workers
have lost their health insurance.

    Also, why are workers the first to be told that they should
live in silent gratitude for the scraps that are thrown our way? While
CEOs and Executives live the high life on what I consider our stolen
wages. Howard Schultz was already worth $1.9 Billion dollars before
getting his million dollar raise while his workers struggle to
survive. The only explanation for that is simply greed.

    I do not wish to put words into Dr. King's mouth but I'm fairly
confident that Dr. King would not be proud of what you are doing
Howard. King lost his life while in Memphis supporting workers that
were organizing a union. King fought on the side of the poor and
disenfranchised his entire life and I seriously doubt he would have
been proud of a company that has spent millions in an effort to squash
it's employees' right to organize. Workers at Starbucks have been
fighting to unionize for many years and in many countries. And without
fail, each and every time, workers have been met with mass firings,
shop closings, illegal interrogation, spying on union supporters,
violating various labor laws, and illegal retaliation. Starbucks would
rather spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on union busting law
firms like Akin Gump to fight in court over whether or not workers
should be allowed their legal right to wearing union pins on the job,
or post union-related fliers up at work, or engage in legally protected
work stoppages in support of a picket - than to raise our wages,
restore our eroding benefits, make health insurance more affordable,
and treat workers with respect.

    We are asking for time and a half pay for workers that must work on MLK Day
at Starbucks. Something they already do for 5 other holidays. We are
asking this because it's the right thing to do. It would put a little
more money in the pocket of broke baristas but also send the message
that Dr. King and his legacy are not forgotten.

    We, in the union, honor Dr. King's legacy everyday by refusing
to live in poverty because of corporate greed. We are one collective
voice that can not be silenced - no matter how loudly the corporate
giant grumbles."

Polish Unionists Protest Starbucks

Wed, 20 May 2009 14:18:26 -0400

Check out the great pics at: http://www.wsa.org.pl/module.php?op=galery&cmd=366

Back to the Future: Starbucks vs. the Wobblies [Seattle Weekly]

Tue, 05 May 2009 10:49:59 -0400

By Damon Agnos

Monday, May. 4 2009

The National Labor Relations Board laid the smack down on the wrist of Starbucks last week, siding with union organizers in finding that the coffee giant engaged in unfair labor practices at eight Minneapolis-area stores. The union said that Starbucks kicked visiting organizers out of their stores and told them they couldn't talk about the union, and also retaliated via disciplinary measures against employees who tried to organize.

The NLRB proposed a settlement, which Starbucks can accept or decline and then face a formal complaint before an administrative law judge. But the real kick is the employees' union. When I heard Starbucks employees were organizing, I automatically thought it would be under the umbrella of the SEIU, the fast-growing, aggressive, powerful union of service industry employees (local branches of which recently protested in front of the First Hill Bank of America).

Instead, though, the Starbucks Workers Union is organized under the Industrial Workers of the World (aka the Wobblies), the international union that was a powerhouse in the early 20th century, opposing World War I, calling general strikes, and facing violent repression from business groups and government. (A particularly notable episode occurred in Centralia.) Those who keep close tabs on labor (or coffee) news probably know that the IWW has been organizing in Starbucks and elsewhere, but for the casual observer, it's a trip to see their name in the news.

Swedish Union Seeks Support After Nazi Murder Attempt

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:30:21 -0500

Nazis tried to murder union activists and their daugther. In 1999 Nazis
murdered the SAC member Björn Söderberg. Now they have tried again.

Two members from Stockholm – one of them earlier board member of the Stocholm
Local- and their three year old daughter had to escape trough the balcony
of their three floor building, when Nazis put their apartment on fire.

Just Before 09.00 pm Monday the first of December, someone poured gasoline
trough their mailbox, our member loudly shouted “we got our child in
here!” Just seconds after they lighted it up. The only way to escape was
trough the balcony, were our members managed to lower their daughter to
the neighbour downstairs who catch her and then climbed down themselves.

Miraculous our members and their daughter managed to escape without
suffering any injuries, but that doesn’t changes the fact that someone,
cold-blooded tried to take their lives. Just two days earlier someone
burned down the social centre Cyklopen in Högdalen south of Stockholm. The

SWU Member Daniel Gross on the Chicago Sit-Down Strike

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:19:14 -0500

The Spark We Need

The Chicago Sit-Down Strike

By DANIEL GROSS, Counterpunch Dec. 8, 2008

The corporations got sloppy. From the hedge-fund parasites to the housing market fraudsters, the corporate criminals have shown their hand. Their filthy fingerprints are all over the economic pain blanketing the country and the world.

To add insult to injury, the corporate agents in government, also known as politicians, are looting incomprehensible billions of dollars to turn over to the fat-cat executives.

Working families have long known the pain of stagnant wages, steep rents, and unaffordable heath care and education in the United States. But there’s no doubt that this recession has squeezed the vise beyond what many of us have seen in our lifetimes.

What’s invigorating and critically important though is the rising awareness that corporations are to blame for the current calamity, and that this crisis is not merely, “a force of nature.” Working people across the country are pointing the blame where it belongs. The elites understand this rising public awareness of corporate wrongdoing as well. How else to explain President George W. Bush feeling obligated to give a speech last month in New York defending capitalism itself...

Read full article at: http://www.counterpunch.org/gross12082008.html

Members of SWU Sister Union in Sweden Survive Nazi Attack

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:31:20 -0500

Two members of the SAC union in Sweden and their two year old daughter were assaulted at home by a Nazi fire attack. The IWW Starbucks Workers Union (SWU) stands in proud solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the SAC, a Swedish labor union dedicated to extending democracy into the workplace.

The SWU will continue to update our members and supporters around the world regarding the Nazi violence against SAC members. Like the IWW, the SAC does not back down from a fight whether it is with a tyrannical boss or a blood-thirsty Nazi. We are certain that in the birthplace of IWW organizer and songwriter Joe Hill, the strength and dignity of every day working people will prevail over the hatred of the Nazis:

From http://anarkisterna.com/blog/2008/12/03/nazis-tried-to-kill-union-activists-and-their-child/

Nazis tried to kill union activists and their child

onsdag 3 december, 2008 kl. 2:27 e m

1999 Nazis killed the Syndicalist Björn Söderberg. Now they tried again. Two Syndicalists from Stockholm – one of them the former chair of the Stockholm chapter of the Syndicalist union - and their two year old daughter were forced to climb down from the balcony of their third floor apartement when Nazis sat fire to their flat.

Half a year ago, our union members were exposed on the Nazi webpage Info-14. The Nazis behind Info-14 are the same people who arrange the annual Nazimarch in Salem.

Just before nine p.m. on Monday night, 1st December 2008, our members heard a splashing sound from the hallway. “I saw someone pour a clear fluid through the mail slot and understood from the scent that it was gasoline”, one of them says. “I shouted so loud that they can’t have missed it: We have children in here! Only seconds later they lit the fire.”

Blast from the past: IWW comes to MOA [TC Daily Planet]

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:05:00 -0400

By Anthony Nadler , TC Daily Planet
July 23, 2008

This week the Mall of America (MOA) became an unusual site for the return of a group once thought to be a relic of Minnesota’s radical union past – the Industrial Workers of the World. Yesterday a group of workers at a MOA Starbucks delivered a letter to their management announcing their affiliation with the I.W.W. union and making a number of demands about working conditions and compensation.

The Starbucks Workers Union, part of the Industrial Workers of the World, has been organizing Starbucks workers for more than four years in cities across the U.S. including New York, Chicago, Grand Rapids, MI, and Minneapolis. The union claims to have over 200 current and former Starbucks employees as members nationally. This is their first public union action in Minnesota. The demands of the MOA Starbucks workers include calls for a living wage, automatic cost-of-living pay increases, and an expanded tuition reimbursement program. One of the benefits often advertised in Starbucks’s employment promotions is tuition benefits. A detailed explanation of the benefits packages on Starbucks website says this benefit will be considered only for “accredited courses relating to Starbucks business.” Union members say the tuition benefit is given only for study in areas relevant to future Starbucks employment.

The union action comes at a sensitive time for Starbucks, just after the company announced they would be closing over 600 stores nationwide and 27 in Minnesota. While neither of the two Starbucks locations at the Mall of America is slated for closure, the workers letter of demands also asks for fair severance packages for workers at closing stores.

Yesterday’s letter of demands comes on the heels of another controversial incident at the Mall of America I Starbucks. On July 11, Erik Forman, a former employee, filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (N.L.R.B) claiming he had been fired the previous day as retaliation for union activity. After Forman’s firing, five workers attempted to get management to reverse the decision through a petition and a short work stoppage. Supporters collected just over 50 signatures from Starbucks workers around the Twin Cities in a petition of support for Forman. Speaking for concerned employees, Jake Bell, a current MOA Starbucks worker, said, “We’re afraid that if Starbucks is willing to break the law to fire Erik, they might fire any of us.” [Editor’s note: Full disclosure—Jake Bell also works with the TC Daily Planet.]

In New York City, where the Starbucks Workers Union has also been active, the N.L.R.B. has accused Starbucks of at least 30 violations. In one settlement, Starbucks agreed to rehire two fired workers. Starbucks Workers Union sources also say their organizing has been instrumental to significant pay increases for New York City workers.

Five Starbucks workers participating at a press conference today at the Mall of America said that they were first attracted to employment with the company because of its reputation for generous benefits and social responsibility. However, they felt that reputation had proved illusionary. Workers participating in today’s press conference said Starbucks baristas are all making much less than a living wage (with salaries starting at $7.60/hour), facing hurdles to get enough hours needed to maintain eligibility for their health benefits and many are not in the position to be able to pay for the premiums and co-pays of company health packages if available. Starbucks requires employees work 160 hours every two months to qualify for healthcare packages in which the company covers a portion of insurance costs. Workers at the press conference today said it is not always possible for employees to secure enough hours on regular basis to qualify for these benefits.

The I.W.W. is a unique union in many respects. Since the early 1900s, the I.W.W. has tried to organize all workers regardless of race, gender and level of skill. They have tended to favor direct action by workers rather than working through governmental mediation or electoral politics. According to Macalester College labor historian Peter Rachleff, the I.W.W. was very active in the 1920s and went into a slump in following decades due to government repression and the success of more powerful unions. Rachleff says the public re-emergence of the I.W.W. now is partially “in response to globalization, economic neoliberalism, and the inability of official unions to develop strategies to resist corporate onslaught.” The Starbucks Workers Union is open to all Starbucks employees and does not require members pay dues.

Local union members would not say if they had plans for any further public actions. Starbucks has not returned phone and email requests for comments and specific information about this story.

Mall Starbucks workers join union [Star Tribune]

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:51:33 -0400

Mall Starbucks workers join union

July 21, 2008

by Matt McKinney, Star Tribune

A group of Starbucks employees at the Mall of America has joined a national union and called on the coffee company for better treatment of its workers following a company announcement this month that it would shutter some 600 stores nationwide, including 27 in Minnesota.

The laid off employees deserve a severance package and the option of a transfer to another location, said Erik Forman, a former Starbucks employee at the Mall of America. He said some employees of the mall location stopped working briefly on Monday to protest the closings; the group plans a press conference today.

Forman, who said he was laid off last week for union activities, said about half of the store's 13 employees have agreed to join the Industrial Workers of the World, which has helped Starbucks employees in New York and Chicago organize unions.

An e-mail sent to a Starbucks spokesperson on Monday evening was not immediately answered.

Mall of America Starbucks Baristas Walk Off Job, Protest Closures [Fox 9]

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:47:47 -0400

Mall of America Starbucks Baristas Walk Off Job, Protest Closures

Starbucks union plans protest of nationwide closures at MOA

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Starbucks baristas at the Mall of America location walked off the job Monday and delivered a letter to management demanding “just treatment” of all employees affected by Starbucks' store closures nationwide.

The barista walkout comes days after Starbucks announce the closure of 600 stores nationwide, including 27 in Minnesota.

BARISTA DEMANDS

The baristas demanded a severance package of closure-affected workers, plus the option to transfer to other stores.

The Starbucks Workers Union says the company plans to give workers one month notice before laying them off with “a paltry two weeks' pay.” The union also says Starbucks will "insist some baristas transfer and will revoke severance pay if transfer offers are refused."

Starbucks pays baristas a wage of $7.60 per hour -- a rate above minimum wage, but below an amount baristas find satisfactory.

"With the skyrocketing cost of living, workers have no other choice than to stand up for improvements on the job,” former barista Erik Foreman said. “Even at Starbucks in the Mall of America, we can organize and fight!"

MINNESOTA MINIMUM WAGE

There are three minimum wages in effect in Minnesota: $5.25 an hour at businesses with gross yearly sales of less than $500,000; the federal minimum of $5.85 at businesses with sales between $500,000 and $625,000; and $6.15 for larger companies. Starting July 24, all employers with sales topping $500,000 must pay the new federal minimum of $6.55 an hour.

Union Link: www.StarbucksUnion.org

SWU Allies Hit Starbucks in Spain on May Day

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:33:10 -0400

The CNT in Spain made sure to stop by Starbucks on their May Day march:

Judge draws clear line at tip jar in Starbucks case

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:11:21 -0400

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.

Will Starbucks reveal Calorie count

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:12:45 -0400

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.”