Baristas Put Pressure on Starbucks [Wall Street Journal]

Tue, 07/26/2011 - 12:26pm -- SWU
By JULIE JARGON Baristas are putting up pressure on Starbucks Corp. to come to terms with 200 unionized workers in Chile who have been on strike for more than two weeks. Employees who belong to the IWW Starbucks Workers Union kicked off a "global week of action" on Monday in solidarity with their Chilean colleagues by picketing in front of a Starbucks in New York City. The IWW baristas, who are not affiliated with the Chilean workers' union, say union workers will be handing out flyers describing the Chilean situation outside Starbucks stores in Phoenix, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, London and Melbourne, Australia. The IWW is also planning to stage an event in Starbucks's hometown of Seattle this week, but won't yet disclose the nature of it.

Union Victory at Starbucks [Counterpunch]

Sat, 01/15/2011 - 3:40pm -- SWU
Three years ago, union baristas at Starbucks made a simple demand of the world's largest coffee chain: respect the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. by paying baristas the same time-and-one-half holiday premium that you pay on six other federal holidays. It was an emotional and symbolic demand to make for two reasons. Many baristas are deeply inspired by Dr. King's legacy on racial equality, and King was murdered while supporting sanitation workers who were on strike for the very right to form a union.
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