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Starbucks Settles ULP Charges Over Firing At Michigan Store, But Union Refuses to Sign

Posted Thu, 02/05/2009 - 4:00pm 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.

A National Labor Relations Board regional director in Detroit Jan. 16 approved a settlement agreement with Starbucks Corp. resolving allegations of unfair labor practices by the Starbucks Workers Union (SWU), an affiliate of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), filed with NLRB Region 7 (Starbucks Corp. d/b/a Starbucks Coffee Co., N.L.R.B. Reg. Dir., No. 7-CA-51190, settlement approved 1/16/09).

The NLRB regional office in Detroit had found sufficient evidence to establish an employer violation of the National Labor Relations Act at a Starbucks store in Grand Rapids, Mich., according to Stephen Glasser, NLRB regional director for Region 7.

The Grand Rapids Starbucks Workers Union (SWU) filed several charges April 15, one of which NLRB found to be a possible violation of the act. On behalf of fired worker Cole Dorsey, SWU claimed Starbucks illegally fired a worker who had been involved in union activities.

Glasser said NLRB concluded there was sufficient evidence to establish Dorsey was fired for his union activities and support for the union. "We thought we could prove that," he told BNA Jan. 9. Starbucks had said it fired Dorsey for attendance issues, Glasser said.
Reinstatement Not Required.

Under the settlement, reached one day before a trial was to be held, Starbucks will expunge record of the termination from the employee's personnel file and will post a notice for 60 days at the Grand Rapids, Mich., store outlining employees' rights under the NLRA.

Under the settlement, Starbucks is not required to reinstate the employee or issue back pay. Although the union had sought Dorsey's reinstatement, NLRB determined that it would not be appropriate, Glasser said.

Solidaridad #8

Posted Mon, 01/26/2009 - 8:12pm by x339084

Solidaridad 8 está aquí!

Estimados companer@s,

Aqui está la primera edicion de Solidaridad en 2009! Muchas gracias a todos los escritores, traductors/as y a FW Rachel Rosen de Toronto por la composición.

Salud y feliz año nuevo a tod@s!

Editor,

Paul Bocking

New Yorkers March Against Wage Slavery

Posted Thu, 01/22/2009 - 3:33pm by x360279
by Diane Krauthamer / January 22, 2009

On a chilly Monday morning in midtown Manhattan, demonstrators displayed powerful messages of solidarity with food and retail workers, demanding fair wages and treatment while sending a prominent message to bosses: “You can’t keep the workers down, New York is a union town!”

On January 19, 2009, approximately 50 people braved the winter weather for the Industrial Workers of the World’s (IWW) annual “March Against Wage Slavery” in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Starting at 11 AM outside the Starbucks Regional Office on 5th Avenue in the shadows of the Empire State Building, a radical marching band joined by union members and supporters rallied alongside Starbucks baristas to demand that workers be paid a holiday premium of time and a half for working on MLK Day—the only national holiday in which workers do not receive premium pay.

Starbucks Cowers to the IWW

Posted Wed, 01/14/2009 - 8:37pm by x344543

Media Statement delivered January 7: Faced with the prospect of losing another trial in front of the National Labor Relations Board the Regional Director has agreed to let Starbucks settle the charges against them and forego the trial that was to begin today. The union is upset that the Board is agreeing to accept another Starbucks settlement in Grand Rapids instead of holding them accountable in open court. If this most recent settlement is approved it will be 3rd one allowed by the board in Grand Rapids. With the signing of each settlement Starbucks has said they would end their anti-union intimidation and each time it has continued unabated. We can be sure it will continue which is why union membership is so vital.

Had the trial gone on here today in Grand Rapids we would have detailed the same type of union busting activity that Starbucks was found guilty of a couple weeks ago in New York. Internal communications would have been admitted into evidence showing upper management discussions about union organizing in Grand Rapids and speculation about barista's union sympathies. The same type of surveillance and monitoring that was going on in New York. Also, Starbucks selectively enforced the attendance policy, scheduled baristas based on their union sympathies, and gave me less in raises because of my union affiliation. Based on the evidence that would have been presented its unbelievable that Howard Schultz doesn't have knowledge of the huge anti-union operation in place at Starbucks. Its possible hes directing the whole operation.

On July 5th of last year there was a Global Day of Action against Starbucks called by the Grand Rapids Starbucks Workers Union and the Seville (Spain) CNT. The Day of Action was called after Monica was fired from a Starbucks in Seville and I was fired here in Grand Rapids. Over 200 Starbucks were picketed in over 80 cities in 20 countries. We have a message from the CNT with an update of Monica's situation.

Starbucks union-busting complaints brewing

Posted Wed, 01/14/2009 - 8:32pm by x344543

Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.

By Paul Demko - The Minnesota Indepedent, January 9, 2009

About a dozen former and current Starbucks workers gathered outside the coffee chain’s outlet at the intersection of Nicollet and Franklin avenues on Thursday morning, circling on the sidewalk in the single-digit temperatures and carrying placards that read “Justice for Baristas” and “Starbucks Workers Union.”

“Starbucks Union here to stay,” they chanted. “These lattes are union-made.”

The event coincided with the filing of 11 labor violation charges against the company with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Among the accusations against the ubiquitous coffee retailer: Employees were illegally fired or punished for engaging in union activities; store managers wrongly prohibited discussions of organizing efforts at work; and pro-union workers were spied on by management.

“Starbucks has flagrantly violated the National Labor Relations Act on countless occasions,” said Aaron Kocher, an employee at the Nicollet Avenue shop.