Employees of Large Ticket Distributor Join Together and Demand Recognition

Grand Rapids, MI - Employees of Star Tickets have "walked on the boss" today demanding a reduction in workload, an employee grievance procedure, and recognition of their union. The employees have formed the IWW Star Tickets Workers Union for mutual support and respect on the job. Their intentions are to begin collective bargaining with owner, Jack Krasula, over a work environment that they say has become untenable.

“We are just exercising our legal right to form a union for our mutual benefit” said Deirdre Cunningham, a Client Services Representative. “We have been meeting, assisting one another, and acting as a union for some time so today we made it official to our boss."

On December 17, Starbucks Coffee abruptly informed "shift supervisors," also known as shifts, in MA that they would no longer receive any income from customers' tips as of January 7. Shift supervisors have extra responsibilities, but start at just $11/hr. The loss of tips represents a cut of up to 10-20% of their income! Shifts comprise roughly one third of Starbucks' MA workforce. The company has said it will not provide any immediate raise to make up for the effective salary cut, and that any future increase shifts may receive won't be retroactive. For years, Starbucks has essentially arranged for customers to subsidize shifts' low pay with tips, but the MA courts have ruled this illegal.

Shifts are demanding that their huge, profitable employer ensures no Starbucks worker loses income from the court ruling on tips. They want a $4/hour raise, and transparency from the company, which has been maddeningly opaque in its dealings with employees, refusing to say anything about any possible raise until a petition link shifts called attention to their plight.

Workers of Neupack Verpackungen GmbH - a German Manufacturer of wrapping materials - are on strike for better working conditions and a labor agreement. They complain about unequal and generally low wages and an arbitrary and disrespectful management style. Even though they struggle for many weeks now, the company’s proprietors show hardly any willingness to make concessions. They have hired foreign strikebreakers and attack the striking workers with disciplinary warnings, dismissals and offence reports.

The German IWW supports the workers’ cause and asks you to show them some international support as well

They have launched an e-mail campaign and prepared some pre-formulated and addressed e-mails to selected recipient’s who have a significant role in this struggle. These e-mails  are provided in English too and can be generated with a mouse click. All you had to do is to sign and send them off. You can of course change the content of the mails to personalize them if you like. It would be great if you added information from where you are writing.

The German Wobblies rely on many of you to participate for they are still small in numbers and their only strength is in their internationality. For many long weeks now, the Neupack Workers hold out in front of their factories in a grueling labor conflict. This campaign would only cost you a couple of minutes in front of your computer.

Link to english section of the campaign site: http://www.iww-hamburg.org/index.html#english

Thanks for your solidarity!
Hamburg Wobblies

Headlines:

• Staughton Lynd: The New Rank And File, And The Walmart Moment
• IWW Report From The Norwegian Social Forum
• Union Leadership Sells Out Verizon Workers

Features:

• The Wobbly Tour Of Indiana
• Building A Branch Requires Persistence & Perseverance
• In December We Remember Our Fellow Workers

Download a Free PDF of this issue