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IWW seeks to organize Starbucks workers

Posted Sun, 11/27/2005 - 4:40am by x344543

BY DEBORAH S. MORRIS, STAFF WRITER - New York Newsday, November 26, 2005, 6:55 PM EST

Russ Allen considers himself a Starbucks fan, buying a cup o' joe every day from the ubiquitous coffee haven. He also considers himself a smart businessman.

So, true to form, he wasn't taking sides Saturday on whether or not Starbucks workers should unionize. Instead, he looked at it as an opportunity to watch free enterprise in action.

Union Steps Up Drive to Organize Starbucks

Posted Sat, 11/26/2005 - 3:24pm by x344543

By ANTHONY RAMIREZ - New York Times, Published: November 26, 2005

The conflict between the Starbucks coffee chain and workers wanting to form a citywide union played out on two fronts yesterday: organizers formed a picket line in front of a local Starbucks, and a hearing was announced for next year before the National Labor Relations Board.

Chanting, "No latte, no peace," as a union organizer dressed as a giant latte rocked back and forth, about 20 demonstrators picketed a Starbucks at Union Square.

They urged a guarantee of a 30-hour work week, to ensure that workers would qualify for health benefits, and they demanded an end to what they called union busting by Starbucks.

So far, the union, the Industrial Workers of the World, has organized three Starbucks coffee shops in New York City. Starbucks has more than 200 outlets within 10 miles of downtown Manhattan, and nearly 6,900 in the United States.

The labor relations board, the agency that oversees workers' right to bargain collectively, said a hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 7 in Manhattan. At that session, union organizers and Starbucks officials will appear before an administrative law judge for a review of the union's allegations about the chain's practices.

Union seeks to organize Starbucks workers

Posted Sat, 11/26/2005 - 3:21pm by x344543
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - November 26, 2005, 11:39 AM EST

Labor organizers formed a picket line in front of a Starbucks at Union Square on Friday in an ongoing bid to push the ubiquitous coffee chain to recognize a citywide union of its workers.

About 20 picketers sang, used air horns and chanted "No latte, no peace," while urging passers-by to boycott the shop. One demonstrator dressed as a giant latte.
 
Meanwhile, the National Labor Relations Board said it will hold a hearing on Feb. 7 in Manhattan to review allegations leveled against the Seattle-based company by the union, the Industrial Workers of the World.

The union, which has organized three of New York's Starbucks coffee shops, wants the company to guarantee 30-hour work weeks to its employees so they can get health benefits and says Starbucks has illegally resisted its workers'attempts to organize, the New York Times reported in its Saturday editions.

Labor organizers picket a Starbucks; NLRB announces hearing

Posted Sat, 11/26/2005 - 3:12pm by x344543

Reposted from New York Newsday - November 26, 2005 

NEW YORK -- Labor organizers formed a picket line in front of a Starbucks at Union Square on Friday in an ongoing bid to push the ubiquitous coffee chain to recognize a citywide union of its workers.

About 20 picketers sang, used air horns and chanted "No latte, no peace," while urging passers-by to boycott the shop. One demonstrator dressed as a giant latte.

Meanwhile, the National Labor Relations Board said it will hold a hearing on Feb. 7 in Manhattan to review allegations leveled against the Seattle-based company by the union, the Industrial Workers of the World.

The union, which has organized three of New York's Starbucks coffee shops, wants the company to guarantee 30-hour work weeks to its employees so they can get health benefits and says Starbucks has illegally resisted its workers'attempts to organize, the New York Times reported in its Saturday editions.

Workers at Third U.S. Starbucks Go Union

Posted Wed, 11/23/2005 - 2:45pm by x344543

Baristas Demand Guaranteed Work Hours

November 18, 2005

New York, NY - 25 Starbucks baristas and supporters wearing union pins and hats surrounded the store manager at the Union Square location in Manhattan tonight to announce their membership in the IWW Starbucks Workers Union (www.starbucksunion.org). The workers, joined by union baristas from two other New York Starbucks stores, demanded a guaranteed minimum of 30 hours of work per week and an end to Starbucks' unlawful anti-union campaign. The Union will assail Starbucks with a wide array of actions until the demands are met.

One of the workers, 23 year-old Tomer Malchi, served the store manager with a document detailing the demands and several other workers directed comments at the boss to be relayed to more senior management. Suley Ayala, a mother of four who has worked at Starbucks for three years, was one of the workers who spoke. She explained after the event: "it should go without saying that we can't live on ten, eleven, or twelve hours of work some weeks. The 30 hour guarantee is absolutely necessary to make ends meet and Starbucks knows it."