Starbucks

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New Zealand Starbucks Workers on Strike!

Posted Wed, 11/23/2005 - 5:08am by x344543

(As reported by Labourstart)- FIRST STARBUCKS STRIKE IN THE WORLD

It was bound to happen eventually -- and it happened today in New Zealand.  Low-paid Starbucks workers walked off the job and formed a picket line.  They were joined by workers from other low paid, fast-food restaurants such as KFC and Pizza Hut.

Starbucks, which tries to project an image as a caring, progressive, company, has some 80,000 employees worldwide.  It pays those workers minimum wage or only slightly above, and generally does not welcome unions.

As you'd expect, LabourStart is covering the New Zealand Starbucks strike (see here: http://www.labourstart.tv).

If you've never seen a picket line at a Starbucks (and chances are, you haven't), have a look!

For more information about union efforts to organize Starbucks worldwide, check out http://www.supersizemypay.com/ and http://www.starbucksunion.org/

Starbucks Union Condemns Torture and Killing of 'Coke' Union Leader

Posted Wed, 09/14/2005 - 10:12pm by x344543

It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to another courageous Colombian union leader and worker, Luciano Enrique Romero Molina. Starbucks workers have always felt a kinship with the food and beverage workers of SINALTRAINAL which was solidified in a 2004 meeting between SINALTRAINAL leader Juan Carlos Galvis and Starbucks Union member Daniel Gross where the two exchanged mutual pledges of solidarity. The assassination of Mr. Romero is a time for mourning yes, but even more so, it's a time to act and to organize. Please read SINALTRAINAL's statement on the killing which follows below and write the letters they suggest:

SINALTRAINAL LEADER LUCIANO ENRIQUE ROMERO MOLINA ASSASSINATED

It is with deep pain that we inform you of the death of comrade LUCIANO ENRIQUE ROMERO MOLINA, a leader of SINALTRANAL who was assassinated in the city of Valledupar, Cesar. Luciano was seen alive at approximately 9pm on 10 September, then on the morning of 11 September his dead body was found tied up, tortured and with 40 knife wounds. He was living under the PROTECTIVE MEASURES scheme of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission of the Organisation of American States.

Starbucks Workers vs. Billionaires for Bush on WBAI

Posted Thu, 08/18/2005 - 11:47pm by x344543

The first line of Starbucks Coffee Company's mission statement says "to provide a great work environment & treat each other with respect & dignity." Recently Starbucks barista Sarah Bender was fired for attempting to improve the work environment that the company claims to already be providing.

She was fired for union organizing. And when Sarah Bender, numerous IWW co-workers & supporters picketed the Starbucks at Cooper Union recently, they had to confront numerous hecklers, members of Billionaires for Bush, who could not sip their lattes idly but instead, recognized Starbucks for its outstanding performance in union-busting and its continuing commitment to pay its baristas unlivable wages.

Read More: http://www.starbucksunion.org/node/369 

(Satire) - Billioniares Rush to the Aid of StarBucks

Posted Wed, 08/10/2005 - 5:30pm by x344543
Original article and photos available at:  NYC Indymedia http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2005/08/55275.html
 
Manhattan Billionaires could not sip their lattes idly while StarBucks Corporation faced attacks by pro-union protesters on Saturday, August 6. Instead, a bevy of Billionaires recognized our #1 specialty coffee retailer for its outstanding performance in union-busting and its continuing commitment to pay its baristas unlivable wages.

To touch off our defiant 'sip-in’, the Billionaires proffered a toast to “record-breaking profits”, while Diva Denz phoned her stock broker, demanding 1,000 more shares of Starbucks stock. But this celebration was cut short by the arrival of, alas, StarBucks Union picketers! Dr. DeBooks, in a fury not often exhausted by a Billionaire, snatched one of the Union’s flyers and brought it inside the store. Reading out loud in unutterable indignation, he sounded off the Union Workers’ grievances, including absurd things like livable wages, a decent number of hours, bathroom breaks, and similar claptrap that you might often hear the indentured class complain about.

IWW Starbucks Workers Union Update

Posted Wed, 07/20/2005 - 2:11am by x344543

IWW Starbucks Workers Union Update and Call-In Day Aug. 1, 2005

Posted July 18, 2005

May 24, 2005- Starbucks terminates IWW member Sarah Bender, a worker at the 17th St. and 1st Ave. store in Manhattan, for her union activity. Fellow Worker Bender's termination marks the first time since the founding of the Starbucks Workers Union over a year ago that the company has fired a worker purely for union organizing. Starbucks learned that Sarah was associated with the Starbucks Workers Union after she hosted a party attended by Union members. Since then, the company has arbitrarily disciplined her to build a phony case for firing her. The pretext for her termination was that she allegedly came out six dollars short on her cash register. On the day in question FW Bender counted the money in her till, determined she had the correct amount, and placed the money in a sealed plastic bag. She then deposited the bag into the store safe. Sarah's store manager, Noura Glenn, subsequently unsealed the bag and falsely claimed there was a shortage. Please lend a hand in the national Call-In Day Against Starbucks on Monday August 1 to demand Sarah Bender's reinstatement. The details are at the end of this update.