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Wobbly Flyering Squad Hits San Francisco Starbucks

Posted Mon, 08/01/2011 - 4:37pm by IWW.org Editor

San Francisco--On Friday, July 29th members of the Bay Area Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) introduced San Francisco's financial district to the global action campaign against Starbucks union busting and the inspiring militancy of Starbucks union workers on strike in Chile.

The Wobbly flyering squad spoke to more than 50 downtown Starbucks workers and over 500 hundred customers. Both workers and customers were appalled to learn of the miserable working conditions of baristas in Chile and recent union-busting by Starbucks in New York. They were also shocked, yet excited to know that, in addition to the El Sindicato de Trabajadores de Starbucks en Chile (Starbucks Workers Union in Chile), Starbucks baristas in North America have organized with the IWW, where workers continue to inspire shop floor solidarity and to fight for better working conditions at Starbucks everywhere.

After becoming aware of the recent firing of Starbucks union barista Tiffany White-Thomas and the terrible treatment of Chilean workers, several customers made it clear they would no longer buy coffee from Starbucks. Many customers also said they intend to call Starbucks to tell them that their recent union-busting is unacceptable, and to inform the company that they support the Starbucks workers'?struggle here in the U.S. and abroad.

IWW Starbucks Workers Union Declares Global Week of Action against Starbucks Union Busting in Solidarity with the Chilean Starbucks Strikers

Posted Sat, 07/23/2011 - 12:08pm by IWW.org Editor

Liberté Locke (IWW, NYC) 917-693-7742, liberte.angrybarista [at] gmail.com (English Only)

Andrés Giordano (President of El Sindicato de Trabajadores de Starbucks en Santiago, Chile) 011-569-918-19467, sindicatosbux [at] gmail.com (English and Spanish Speaking)

July 22. 2011

Union Seeks to Hold Starbucks Accountable for their Union Busting at Home and Abroad

NEW YORK – Monday, July 25th, the IWW Starbucks Workers Union will launch a Global Week of Action in support of their separate but sister union El Sindicato de Trabajadores de Starbucks en Chile (Starbucks Workers Union in Chile). 

Over 200 baristas and shift supervisors that work in the 32 Chilean Starbucks locations went on strike on July 7th.  They are striking in an effort to have their demands met.  Their most crucial demand is earning a higher wage.  Currently baristas at Starbucks in Chile make $2.50/hr. while the drinks are still sold for US prices, and they haven’t received raises in 8 years.  The baristas are also asking for a lunch stipend in order to eat during their shifts, this is something managers in Chile are provided.

Two weeks, to the day, after the strike began a New York City barista and mother of two young children was fired for announcing her membership in the IWW Starbucks Workers Union.  The company gave no official reason for her termination but did fire her when she refused to meet with higher ups without her attorney and union representative present, which was a previous agreement between the union and management.  Tiffany White-Thomas has worked at the Canal/Broadway Starbucks for over two years. She was up for a promotion when her store manager, Rafael Fox, told her that, being a mother, she would not have the time necessary to dedicate to the company so he would not be promoting her.  A letter given to Tiffany’s managers made reference to the collective efforts of the IWW Starbucks Union and the Chilean Strikers.  Both unions feel that that this solidarity across borders  is seen as a threat to the company and is, in part, what led to Tiffany’s termination.

In New York City, the first solidarity action will be a press conference and picket in front of the Canal and Broadway Starbucks location, 405 Broadway between Walker and Canal St., starting at 12pm on Monday, July 25th.  The IWW is demanding full reinstatement of Tiffany White-Thomas and that Starbucks negotiate in good faith with their brothers and sisters of El Sindicato de Trabajadores de Starbucks en Chile.

Similar actions in support of the Chilean Strikers are expected in various cities throughout the US and the world throughout next week.

The IWW Starbucks Workers Union is a grassroots organization composed entirely of current and former Starbucks employees who have fought for respect, security, affordable health care and a living wage since 2004. Working together, SWU members have improved working conditions for Starbucks employees and won legal victories against unfair labor practices.

Urgent Solidarity Appeal - Starbucks Worker Wrongfully Terminated!

Posted Thu, 07/21/2011 - 1:02pm by IWW.org Editor

Call and/or text Starbucks Store Manager Rafael Fox @ 860-559-6339. Demand Tiffany White-Thomas' job be reinstated @ the Canal/Broadway Starbucks in NYC. Demand to know why he refuses to promote mothers, discriminates in hiring, and fires union workers. Do not stop.

Starbucks Workers Plan Strike in Chile

Posted Thu, 07/21/2011 - 12:03pm by IWW.org Editor

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 Julie Jargon - Wall Street Journal, July 6, 2011

In what would be Starbucks Corp.'s first strike at a company-owned store, baristas at the chain's outlets in Chile plan to walk out Thursday because, they say, their wages are so low that they can't afford to buy lunch.

Unionized employees at 30 of Starbucks's 31 Chilean stores plan to walk out for as many as several days, said Andr?s Giordano, president of the union, Sindicato de Trabajadores de Starbucks Coffee Chile.

Mr. Giordano, a 24-year-old shift supervisor in Santiago, said the starting hourly wage for Chilean Starbucks workers is the equivalent of $2.50, and it hasn't changed in eight years.

"Lunch in Chile costs $5 to $6," he added.

The Chilean workers have been pressing for a lunch stipend since they organized two years ago. Starbucks managers in Chile get a monthly "lunch bonus" of $50, while other employees are offered two free coffees a day. "I would prefer to eat a sandwich," Mr. Giordano said.

The skirmish underscores one of the challenges U.S.-based companies like Starbucks face as they expand their global footprint. Multinational companies seeking to enter new markets often have to deal with local labor groups and government requirements to honor collective bargaining.

As a condition of merging with African retailer Massmart Holdings Ltd., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recently agreed to honor union-bargaining agreements for three years.

Starbucks has had to comply with government-mandated participation in collective-bargaining agreements in Brazil and Argentina. The company has also clashed with workers who tried unsuccessfully to organize in Europe and New Zealand, and it has battled with unionized workers in North America, where 300 employees are members of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union.

New Fringe Fest Musical Inspired by Union Fight at Starbucks Puts Low-wage Retail Workers in Spotlight

Posted Sat, 07/02/2011 - 2:19am by x344543

The Silent Room: A Worker's Musical

Contacts: Ted Dewberry, 763-607-4492; Erik Forman, 612-598-6205

The Silent Room Takes Audiences Inside Labor Insurgency in America's Corporate Chains

Sneak Preview: 7:30pm July 7th, Zorongo Dance Theater Performance Dates: August 5th-11th in the Minnesota Fringe Fest at the Gremlin Theater.

MINNEAPOLIS-- When a coworker at Starbucks approached barista Ted Dewberry about forming a union at their workplace, his initial reaction was fear. Working 17 hour days at Starbucks and IKEA to pay off decades-old film school student loans, Ted was in no position to risk his job. He reluctantly agreed to come to a meeting, but only to listen. Little did he know the decision would change his life. In the months that followed, Ted and his coworkers faced down a campaign of intimidation coordinated by Starbucks' anti-union consultants at the Akin Gump law firm, won improved working conditions at their store, and helped spark a retail workers movement that continues to grow with unionization campaigns at Jimmy John's, Target, Walmart, the Apple Store, and other corporate juggernauts.

An independent filmmaker in his limited free time, Dewberry decided to tell the story of what happens when you say "union yes." The result is "The Silent Room," a new music-laced exposé of the misery of the corporate retail workplace. The name of the show is inspired by a special room in the Twin Cities IKEA for workers to go to when they have a nervous breakdown on the job.