By Eric Griffey - Fort Worth Weekly, February 3, 2010.

In late December, a small group of Starbucks employees blocked the drive-through window at the company's coffee shop at Rosedale Street and 8th Avenue for about 20 minutes, in protest of the rising cost of their healthcare insurance, low wages, and a litany of other issues. The protest signaled that a handful of local baristas had gone public with their association with the Starbucks Workers' Union - and it meant that, for a while on that afternoon, customers had to wait even longer than usual to get a cup of gourmet coffee. coverThe protesters said they didn't intend for the store to lose any business. They saw the move as a symbolic gesture, a message to the corporate coffee giant that they are willing to go to great lengths to improve their working environment. Although the protest hardly measured up to, say, the garbage workers strike in Fort Worth in 1999, it did get the company's attention. Organizers said that the company's top brass now has the Rosedale store under a microscope and that corporate officials visit frequently.

Fort Worth is the sixth city in the U.S. and the first in Texas to associate with the Starbucks Workers Union, which was started in 2004 under the umbrella of the Industrial Workers of the World, a century-old international union that takes a kind of class warfare approach and has had success in organizing in nontraditional industries, from bicycle messengers to food co-op workers.

Michelle Cahill, the group's organizer, said that she and others have seen firsthand the declining morale of their co-workers, as the company has been forced to make changes to cope with hard times.

The unhappy baristas feel as though the company, which is perennially listed on Forbes magazine's "best companies to work for" list, has lost its way, and is becoming more like a fast food chain - concentrating more on moving product than connecting with customers. "There are people in every store in the country who feel that the company isn't what it used to be," Cahill said.

But she said the union's goals have less to do with the overall direction of the company than with mistreatment of workers. Among their demands are better and cheaper healthcare, increased wages, more hours, and better working conditions.

For Immediate Release:
Industrial Workers of the World (NYC)

January 18, 2010

Contact: Liberte Locke, 917-693-7742

Baristas Call on Starbucks to Honor Dr. King with March and Rally

IWW demands that coffee giant pay workers the same premium it pays on other federal holidays

New York, NY- The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) branch here held a march and rally at Starbucks today to call on the corporation to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the federal holiday commemorating his birth. The Starbucks Workers Union of the IWW is demanding that Starbucks pay a holiday premium to baristas who work on MLK Day just as the Seattle-based chain does for five other federal holidays.

For Immediate Release:
IWW Starbucks Workers Union (Industrial Workers of the World)

Contact: Liberte Locke, 917-693-7742

December 30, 2009

Statement of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union

Year of Legal Losses for Starbucks is Capped Off with Another Union Victory

Less than two months after a legal defeat in a high-stakes appeal, Starbucks is settling charges of further workers' rights violations committed against baristas organizing with the Industrial Workers of the World for secure work hours, affordable health care, and respect on the job.

After an independent investigation, Region 2 of the National Labor Relations Board in Manhattan brought a complaint against the fast food coffee chain for illegally suspending and reprimanding a barista who stopped work to participate in a union protest; interrogating baristas about their union activity; and tearing down union flyers from company bulletin boards.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IWW Starbucks Workers Union (Industrial Workers of the World)
Contact: Michele Cahill, 817-368-5892

December 18, 2009

Steamed Baristas Shut Down Fort Worth Starbucks Drive-Thru to Demand Affordable Healthcare and Paid Sick Days for those Diagnosed with H1N1

Press Conference: December 18, 12:00 noon, 8th and W. Rosedale Starbucks, Fort Worth

Fort Worth, TX- Baristas and community supporters at the 8th and Rosedale Starbucks shut down the store’s drive-thru this morning and delivered a list of demands including affordable health care options and sick days for those displaying H1N1 or other cold and flu symptoms. Starbucks doubled the cost of the company health insurance plan in September, leaving many workers unable to afford treatment because of sky-high deductibles and premiums.

The National Labor Relations Board overturned one of the four items that Starbucks appealed from a decision that an NLRB administrative-law judge made against the company last December.

The decision involved stores in New York, where the judge said work rules were unfairly imposed on employees who supported the union. The coffee chain was ordered to give back jobs to three former workers and compensate them for lost earnings. The company also must post notices informing employees of their labor-organizing rights.

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

By A. G. Sulzberger - New York Times, August 18, 2009.

Saying it spends nearly as much on health insurance for its workers as it does on coffee, Starbucks recently announced that it would increase the amount that eligible employees need to contribute to keep their health care coverage.

On Monday evening, newly unionized Starbucks baristas gathered at the company’s regional headquarters in Manhattan to protest the move, which they said would effectively double the cost of their health insurance.

The change would increase the cost of the most basic plan to $20 from $12.50 each paycheck and the annual sign-up cost to $200 from $100, according to Liberte Locke, a barista who has been active in unionization efforts with the Industrial Workers of the World.

“If they’re going to charge us this amount, our pay needs to increase,” she said. She added that a growing number of employees were ineligible for the health insurance because they worked fewer than 20 hours a week.

Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that Aizze was the best barista at the Snelling & Selby Starbucks in St. Paul, MN. She knew every regular's drink and could make a latte in 28 seconds. She has 20 MUG awards for her job performance, and was never written up in her two years of service, nor was her till ever ‘over’ or ‘short.’ Her coworkers and customers loved her; they called her 'Aizze' (pronounced 'Ozzie'), short for Azmera. This description is in the past tense because Starbucks wrongfully fired Aizze on July 8, 2009. Starbucks management accused her of theft, although they themselves ADMIT that they have no video or other evidence to support their accusation.

Adding insult to injury, Saint Paul District Manager Claire Gallagher took advantage of Aizze’s limited English abilities and bullied and manipulated her into signing a promissory note saying she would pay Starbucks the arbitrarily- determined amount of $1200. Acting through the notoriously anti-worker law firm Olonoff, Asen & Serebro,. LLP, Starbucks has since sent Aizze a letter threatening to send their baseless claim to a collections agency.

Azmera is not a thief. An immigrant from Ethiopia, Azmera has been a citizen of the U.S. for the past ten years. She has worked at Starbucks for the past two years. Together with her husband, a Taxi driver, Azmera is the proud mother of three young children. Aizze is an honest, deeply religious woman who loves her job and works hard to care for her family.

How did this happen?

On July 8, 2009, Aizze was told to sit in the back room at the end of her shift, alone with St. Paul District Manager Claire Gallagher. For almost two hours, she was not allowed to leave, and no other workers were allowed to enter. The DM made a conference call with “Partner & Asset Protection” Manager Chris Vanderhoof and together they began to interrogate Aizze. When Aizze informed her interrogators that she did not understand what they were saying, they just repeated the same words over and over. Aizze was not offered an interpreter. She was told that if she didn't sign the promissory note, they would call the police and have her arrested. Thinking of her children, she signed the paper. Her interrogators told her flatly that they had no proof or video of her stealing money, yet they accused her of theft. Aizze never stole. If there was change someone didn’t want from a transaction, Aizze put it in the tip jar, but she never, ever stole.

Why Aizze?

We can only speculate on why Aizze was targeted, but one thing is clear: Starbucks thinks they can get away with victimizing her because she is an immigrant and a non-native English speaker.

What You Can Do To Help

We all have a responsibility to stand up for the most vulnerable amongst us. We will not sit idly by while Starbucks management victimizes one who has come to this country seeking a better life. We demand immediate reinstatement, the immediate nullification of the promissory note, and an apology to Aizze. Justice must be done for Aizze and all workers.

DEMAND JUSTICE, Call:

• Regional Vice President SUMI GOSH at 312-342-8701
• Regional Director DIMITRI HATZIGEORGIOU at 312-731-8909
• St. Paul District Manager CLAIRE GALLAGHER at 651-260-5079