Starbucks Union - Justice from Bean to Cup!

Nyeri coffee farmers rage at Starbucks officials [The Standard- Kenya]

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 13:15:10 -0500

By Moses Njagih and agencies

http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143961897

Angry farmers from a coffee factory in Nyeri District have blasted officials of the Starbucks Coffee Company for refusing to respond to their questions on a project the multinational is undertaking in the area.

The American coffee retailer is involved in the Kenya Heartland Coffee project, to help farmers to improve the quality of their crop.

But during a visit by Starbuck officials, irate farmers of Kihuyo Coffee Factory accused Mr James Donald, the company’s president, of using them to rake in billions in profits.

Oxfam Taking On Starbucks to Secure Ethiopian Coffee Farmer Rights

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 11:13:40 -0400

Oxfam revealed today that Starbucks has been working to block Ethiopian coffee farmers from asserting the right to their own cultural heritage. Ethiopia is seeking to control its own coffee names- Sidamo, Harar, and Yirgacheffe- against Starbucks' opposition. The company's maneuvering is depriving Ethiopian coffee farmers of tens of millions of dollars a year in much needed revenue.

The revelation is further evidence that Starbucks' socially-responsible claims regarding coffee farmers and baristas is nothing but spin.

Visit the Starbucks campaign homepage at Oxfam's website: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatwedo/campaigns/coffee/starbucks

Take a stand with workers across the Starbucks supply chain with the Justice from Bean to Cup! campaign: http://starbucksunion.org/bean2cup

Justice at Starbucks: A Call for Campus Activists

Fri, 26 May 2006 18:26:48 -0400

From the IWW Starbucks Workers Union

A Campus Campaign for Starbucks Baristas and Coffee Farmers

Friends:

This is a call for activists towards a campus campaign to achieve dignity on the job for Starbucks baristas and coffee farmers.

Despite its attempt to create a socially responsible image, Starbucks' failure to meaningfully embrace Fair Trade coffee has left coffee farmers and their children teetering on the brink of starvation in the Global South. A new documentary, Black Gold (www.blackgoldmovie.com), reveals in detail the pained existence of coffee farmers under the purchasing practices of Starbucks and other multinational corporations.

In Starbucks cafes, baristas are paid a poverty wage and the company insures a lower percentage of employees than Wal-Mart. Starbucks baristas are organizing a union (www.starbucksunion.org) with the Industrial Workers of the World for a better life on and off the job. In response, the company has waged a fierce and relentless anti-union campaign that tramples on workers' rights. In this union-busting operation unburdened by the law, Starbucks routinely retaliates against baristas for supporting the union. In addition, Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz recently broke the union of roasting plant employees.