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Statement of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union on the Purchase of a $45 Million Corporate Jet by Starbucks

Posted Wed, 01/14/2009 - 7:35pm by x344543
For Immediate Release:
Starbucks Workers Union (Industrial Workers of the World)

Contact: StarbucksUnion@yahoo.com

January 9, 2009

Statement of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union on the Purchase of a $45 Million Corporate Jet by Starbucks

"The IWW Starbucks Workers Union is appalled that Starbucks spent $45 million on a new corporate jet so that CEO Howard Schultz could spend the holidays in Hawaii glad-handing sports superstars while baristas and shift supervisors are denied the work hours they need to make ends meet in the midst of an economic crisis.  With that $45 million, Starbucks could provide over five million additional work hours to employees in need or maintain its gutted 401k program for three additional years.

Starbucks' new corporate jet only seats 19 passengers.  That leaves out tens of thousands of us so-called partners.  As a company that claims to treat all of its employees with "respect and dignity", Starbucks should sell its extravagant jet and use the money to benefit its workers and their families, not just senior executives.  Starbucks should start by scaling back painful across-the-board labor cuts and maintaining a transparent 401k matching plan, so that workers know what to expect before they put their money away for decades.

In today's dire economic climate, there is no room for this kind of corporate extravagance.  Instead of bearing their share of the burden, Starbucks management has recklessly chosen to further reward their poor performance.  As Starbucks wastes much needed funds on unnecessary luxuries, it can expect increased resistance from baristas and shift supervisors seeking job security and sufficient work hours."

The IWW Starbucks Workers Union (StarbucksUnion.org) is an organization of almost 300 current and former employees at the world's largest coffee chain united for secure work hours, a living wage, and an independent voice on the job.  Through direct action, public education, and legal advocacy, the union fights for systemic change at Starbucks and confronts management over unfair treatment of individual employees.

The Industrial Workers of the World (iww.org) is a global grassroots union open to all working people.

Starbucks' Legal Troubles Deepen as Union Files Charges with NLRB on nearly 30 Rights' Violations

Posted Wed, 01/07/2009 - 4:41pm by x344543
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Starbucks Workers Union / Industrial Workers of the World
Contact: Erik Forman, 608 695 8705

January 7, 2008

Starbucks' Legal Troubles Deepen as Union Files Charges with National Labor Relations Board on nearly 30 Rights' Violations

Twin Cities Baristas to Illustrate Impact of Union-busting with Big "Performance Review" of Starbucks Management

Minneapolis -- On the heels of a landmark decision finding Starbucks guilty of almost 30 labor violations in New York City, the IWW Starbucks Workers Union has slapped the embattled coffee giant with new charges of nearly 30 additional counts of illegal union-busting in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The union alleges that Starbucks broke federal law repeatedly by interrogating workers about union sympathies, instructing supervisors to spy on the union, and disciplining workers for participating in the union. Union baristas plan to deliver a six-month "Performance Review" of Starbucks to regional management to illustrate their disgust.

Union barista Erik Forman said, "After the guilty verdict in New York City and settlements in the Twin Cities and Grand Rapids, we had hoped that Starbucks would have learned its lesson, but unfortunately, the company has chosen to continue the pattern of illegal union-busting they have established across the US. We will not stand for this, Starbucks must respect our right to organize."

In late December, a federal ruling against Starbucks concluded a two-year legal battle between Starbucks and baristas represented by the Industrial Workers of the World labor union in New York City, ordering the reinstatement of three baristas fired for union activity. The ruling parallels recent events in Grand Rapid, MI and the Twin Cities where Starbucks settled two similar Unfair Labor Practice charges.

Starbucks Caves in to Avoid Today's Trial on Fellow Worker Dorsey's Termination

Posted Wed, 01/07/2009 - 4:33pm by x344543

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 Melissa Allison - Seattle Times business reporter, Jan. 6, 2009
Starbucks has reached a settlement in principle over a Michigan barista whom the National Labor Relations Board said was fired in June because of his union activities.

An administrative trial that was scheduled for today has been canceled, and the agreement is expected to be signed this week, said Chet Byerly, resident officer for the NLRB in Grand Rapids. He would not disclose details of the proposed agreement.

A Starbucks spokeswoman confirmed that it is working on a settlement.

It is the third time in a month that Starbucks has faced action from the NLRB regarding the Industrial Workers of the World union.

Last month, an NLRB administrative law judge found that Starbucks took part in unfair labor practices at several of its New York cafes.

E-Mail Action: Tell Starbucks We're Not Backing Down on Martin Luther King Day!

Posted Wed, 01/07/2009 - 4:11pm by x344543

Message Preview

From: Your Name <you@example.com>
To: hschultz@starbucks.com, info@starbucks.com, tdarrow@starbucks.com, twilk@starbucks.com, voneil@starbucks.com
Subject: E-Mail Action: Tell Starbucks We're Not Backing Down on Martin Luther King Day!

Your Personal Statement

Howard Schultz
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Starbucks Corporation
hschultz@starbucks.com

Dear Mr. Schultz,

I urge you in 2009 to stop treating Martin Luther King Day like a second-class holiday. Last year after grassroots actions from the IWW Starbucks Workers Union, your company was forced to admit publicly that Starbucks does not pay the same time-and-a-half holiday premium on Dr. King's federal holiday that it pays on five other holidays.

After you declined to honor Dr. King's day in 2008, the Starbucks Workers Union refused to back down and pledged to fight on toward 2009 in the great tradition of the civil rights movement.

Many baristas, like many people around the world, are deeply inspired by Dr. King's message and example. Yet while Starbucks claims to embrace diversity and respect Dr. King, you continue to treat Martin Luther King Day as inferior to other federal holidays.

I join the SWU's call for Starbucks to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the baristas who work on the federal holiday commemorating his birthday by paying the time and a half holiday premium you already pay on several other federal holidays. I expect your prompt attention to this matter.

Your Name
Your Organization
123 Your St.
Yousville, YO 12345 United States
Phone: (123)456-7890
Fax: (123)456-7890x123

Wobblies Know How to Ringin the New Year! - IWW Hits Starbucks with Protest

Posted Wed, 01/07/2009 - 3:50pm by x360279

By Stephanie Basile; Photo By Liberte Locke

The SWU staged a New Year's Eve protest as part of the ongoing campaign for Hurst. In addition to demanding pay for Hurst, the demonstrators talked to customers about the union's struggle for secure work hours and respect on the job. For one of the demonstrators, Starbucks barista Henry Marin, it was his first public action as a member of the union.

The group of about 10 union members spent an hour demonstrating on a cold New Year's Eve, chanting outside the Union Square East store and holding signs bearing slogans such as "support Your Local Union Baristas," and the soon-to-be ubiquitous slogan "Where's Anna's Money?" Customers were encouraged to ask management this question inside. One customer reported that the manager he spoke to pretended she had no idea what he was talking about.

Where's Anna's Money?

When a person is sick and has to leave work early, and if that person happens to be a part-time hourly wage earner, she or he misses out on the remaining hours in that shift. Having no paid sick time, this and other precarious situations are of the type that Starbucks baristas are used to dealing with.

And thus, when Anna Hurst left work sick during a shift this past August, she already knew she'd have to deal with losing a few hours' pay. Never do people imagine, though, that their employer will then deny them an additional two weeks of work. Unfortunately, that's exactly what Starbucks did. After having to leave sick, Hurst called work the next day to find out her schedule only to discover that her name had been removed from the schedule for two weeks.