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Clowning the Boss

Clowning the Boss
By FW double jeff

Monday, February 16th The New York branch of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union held an energetic eight-hour picket outside two separate Starbucks locations. Originally planned as a “loose informal picket” outside the Union Square East Starbucks location, managerial stupidity and increased union-busting activity on the part of Starbucks turned it into a media circus and all night protest. Between the time when the picket was planned and when it actually took place, Starbucks decided to fire yet another union barista, Sharon Bell, from the 17th and Broadway location, conveniently located across the park from Union Square East.

The picket was called to protest the recent wave of Starbucks layoffs and draw attention to the refusal of Starbucks to pay severance, in spite of claiming in several press releases to the media that they will be providing severance pay to all laid off workers. The message was expanded to include the demand for the reinstatement of Sharon Bell and an immediate end to the illegal, unethical, nationally coordinated union-busting operations of Starbucks Coffee.

An hour before the picket was to take place, union organizer and barista at Union Square East, Liberte Locke started receiving phone calls from members of the press inquiring as to whether or not the picket was still happening. Apparently when photographers and camera people showed up early to scout the location they were greeted by someone with a clipboard claiming to represent the union and they were told the picket was cancelled. Further example of the dirty tactics Starbucks uses to squash dissent and undermine the union. Thankfully that tactic backfired, because in spite of it being a rather small turn out of under 30 people, the media showed up full force turning the scene into a street level press conference. Whether it was because the press doesn’t like to have the wool pulled over its eyes, or because of the strength and conviction of the demand letter which was included with the press release, the media for once seemed to want to represent our side, rather than just be a mouthpiece for Starbuck’s anti-union, anti-worker propaganda department.

As we lined the whole front of the store with signs containing messages ranging from “Stop The Layoffs” to “Stop Union-Busting,” local and national television, radio and print ranging from CNN to NPR interviewed union organizers Sharon Bell, Daniel Gross, Liberte Locke and Henry Marin.

Other signs demanded that Starbucks “Stop Slashing Labor Hours” and “Restore Benefits.” As well as demand that Starbucks “Obey Judge Landow’s Ruling” and “Reinstate Fired Union Baristas: Joel Agins, Jr., Sharon Bell, Cole Dorsey, Daniel Gross, Neal Linder and Isis Saenz. “

Things got tense when police started ordering picketers to stop “blocking the door” even though no one was anywhere near the door. Cops threatened to arrest union barista Mischa Lefebvre who was standing nowhere near the door. They started to push him around and drag him off but Fellow Workers Liberte Locke and Daniel Gross intervened, helping him avoid arrest. Daniel Gross had made it clear to the police that “when our people are unlawfully arrested we sue the police for wrongful arrest.” The police were still making threats to arrest the whole crowd and were overheard calling for police vans. Locke and Gross tried to reason with the cops, which is like trying to reason with goldfish. Or pudding. The police finally backed off when Locke told the press to focus their cameras on the door which was not being blocked in any way so that when the cops arrested everyone there would be proof that it was under false pretenses. Later Locke remarked that “it was like they were pointing to a desk and telling me it was not a desk.”

Around 7pm we marched over to 17th and Broadway, where Sharon Bell was fired for being a union organizer. Only a few reporters actually followed us over there, but that’s where the real action took place. Several of us went inside to meet up with union barista and IWW organizer Henry Marin so he could deliver the SWU demand letter to the store manager “Little Mark” Vanneri. Little Mark, who is known to have an anger problem, threw the demand letter back in Marin’s face several times. In retaliation “Big Mark” Ormsbee, the District Manager in charge of both 17th and Broadway and Union Square East refused to let Marin go back to work for the rest of his shift for “walking off on the job.” Marin was later written up for the incident, even though he was engaging in a legally protected work stoppage.

Not letting Henry Marin finish his shift was a huge mistake on the part of Ormsbee. We told Big Mark that we would not leave until they let Marin go back to work, which they were too pig-headed to do, so a “loose informal” two hour demo ended up being a nearly 8 hour indignant protest.

According to Starbucks policy any time there is a union action against any Starbucks location, the Store Manager and District Manager are required to be there. They were not allowed to leave until we left. And we stayed until the end, all the way until closing time. Starbucks’ anti-union policy essentially kept them hostage in their own store for nearly eight hours. Normally Store Managers don’t work closing shifts, so it was nice to see both Little Mark and Big Mark have to. Even though nothing a Starbucks manager does could really be considered “work.” They mostly just played on their laptops, drank coffee and talked on their cell phones all night while we chanted “Let Henry Work!” until our voices almost gave out. We protested Big Mark Ormsbee with a Warriors reference, “Ormsbeeeeeee, come out and plaaaaaaaa-ay!” which a lot of New Yorkers seemed to really appreciate. Several New Yorkers joined in the protest for a few minutes, or a few hours because “New York is a Union Town!” We chanted “What’s Disgusting? Union Busting!” and “What’s Outrageous? Starbucks Wages!”

Around 11pm, District Manager Tracy Bryant and two other DMs were finally given permission to leave by corporate. Bryant used to be the DM for the region that 17th & Broadway and Union Square East are located in, and is known for her union-busting skills. The three DMs were accompanied to the train station by six or seven enthusiastic protesters who called them “Union-Busters”. Because, as I mentioned earlier, New York is a union town several passers-by joined in the festivities.

Once the two Starbucks PR reps left, Little Mark and Big Mark were on their own. When the store closed at 1am, Mark Ormsbee went outside to plead with the cops to arrest the five of us who were left. We began chanting “SHAME SHAME SHAME ON YOU!” while the police told him they weren’t going to arrest us. Ormsbee stormed angrily back into the store. About 15 minutes later he and Little Mark finally made their exit. The two not-very-pleased managers came out of the store and hailed two separate cabs. We continued chanting “SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!” and telling everyone in earshot that they were union-busting scumbags! As Mark Ormsbee got into his car he called one of the founders of the Starbucks Workers Union, and fired union barista Daniel Gross a “pussy.”

How telling is it that Ormsbee chose the word “pussy” to describe someone who is fighting for dignity and respect in the workplace? That term is not only misogynistic and anti-woman, but in this context it’s meant to be queer-baiting and demasculizing as well. Mark Ormsbee is the man who is responsible for investigating sexual harassment and discrimination claims for an entire region. Are we to believe that the concerns of women and GLBT people are going to be treated seriously by Ormsbee?

In the past month Ormsbee has fired two Black female union baristas for organizing in the workplace, which is legally protected. Sheanel Simon from Union Square East has already won her job back through union pressure, we are still fighting for Sharon Bell.

Photo by Angela Cranford of NBC New York.
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