Greetings from the International Solidarity Commission (ISC) of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and welcome to the first of our irregularly published international news letter.

The purpose of this newsletter is to keep our allies around the world informed of our activities, solidarity campaigns, and relevant international labor struggles. It is our hope that this newsletter will contribute to building worker-to-worker solidarity through strengthened communications and exchanges of information.

If you would like to contribute story ideas or news for the bulletin, or wish to contact the ISC, you can email solidarity [at] iww.org.

---

Saludos de la Comisión de Solidaridad Internacional (ISC) de los Trabajadores Industriales del Mundo (IWW) y dar la bienvenida a la primera de la carta publicada irregularmente noticias internacionales.

El propósito de este boletín es mantener a nuestros aliados alrededor del mundo informados de nuestras actividades, campañas de solidaridad, y luchas obreras relevantes. Esperamos que este boletín contribuya a construir solidaridad entre trabajadores reforzando las comunicaciones e intercambios de información.

Para contribuir con ideas o noticias al boletín, o para contactar a la ISC por favor escribir a solidarity [a] iww.org. Para la versión en español, hacer clic aquí.

For Immediate Release:
IWW Starbucks Workers Union

Contact: StarbucksUnion (at) yahoo.com

February 11, 2010

Kati Moore Inspires Starbucks District Managers to Expose High-Level Sexual Harassment

Howard Schultz Still Silent Amid Growing Evidence of a Hostile Work Environment

New York, NY- In a risky departure from the normal chain of command, a group of  Starbucks district managers have authored an impassioned letter to top executives in Seattle demanding that action be taken against a company vice president allegedly engaged in pervasive sexual harassment.  

The letter, which was made available to the IWW Starbucks Workers Union, alleges that Regional Vice President Andrew Alfano has created an unsafe work environment with his behavior and is responsible for the departure of two female regional directors, among many other troubling charges.  

For Immediate Release:
Brandworkers

February 1, 2010

Contact: press (at) brandworkers.org

Workers Rights' Group Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Beverage Distributor Over Alleged Labor Violations

Immigrant Workers Take a Stand for Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay

New York, NY-  A non-profit workers' rights organization filed a class action lawsuit on Friday alleging that a Queens-based drink distributor,
Beverage-Plus, is violating the rights of its immigrant workforce.
The lawsuit was filed in New York federal court on behalf of current and former delivery drivers and warehouse assistants who were allegedly denied minimum wage and overtime by Beverage-Plus, in addition to other rights violations.  The case is an effort of the Brandworkers Focus on the Food Chain initiative which is exposing abuses in NYC's food processing sector and was brought in association with law firm Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C.

"My co-workers and I work hard and now we are demanding to be paid according to the law," said Richard Merino, a member of Brandworkers who has been a driver at Beverage-Plus for six years.  "Wage theft is very damaging and we have chosen to tackle the problem by organizing together and taking collective action."

Lawyers for the workers will seek class certification to recover allegedly withheld compensation for current and former Beverage-Plus workers who have worked at the company in the last six years.  Maia Goodell and Anand Swaminathan of Vladeck Waldman are serving as lead counsel.

"Tens of thousands of recent immigrant workers labor out-of-sight in exploitative conditions processing and distributing food to New York's markets and restaurants," said Daniel Gross, the director of Brandworkers.  "Wage theft, abusive treatment, non-existent benefits, and hostility to organizing are endemic in the sector but workers' resolve to assert their rights is strong and growing.  Brandworkers Focus on the Food Chain will press on until New York's food processing employees win respect for their human rights and just recognition for their important contribution to our economy and our community."

Brandworkers is a New York-based non-profit organization protecting and advancing the rights of retail and food employees.  By providing workers with legal, advocacy, and organizing tools, Brandworkers ensures employer compliance with the law and challenges corporate misconduct in the community.  The Brandworkers Focus on the Food Chain initiative promotes a sustainable food system where workers' human rights are respected.

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.

By Jonathan Christiansen and Kenneth Miller

Jonathan Christiansen, a Delegate of the Boston IWW, is living in Bangladesh with his wife and son until July 2010. Before leaving for Bangladesh he spoke with Jason Fults and reviewed the reports from his time as ISC Delegate in Bangladesh. The 2009 ISC made Christiansen an ISC Delegate to Bangladesh in December. In early January the IWW hosted a conference call to discuss the best ways to support Jonathan’s efforts in Bangladesh. Members of the Pittsburgh Anti Sweatshop Community Alliance and Bjorn Claeson of SweatFree Communities were guest on the call. The call concluded with the participants agreeing on three projects:

For Immediate Release:
Brandworkers

January 20, 2010

Contact: press (at) brandworkers.org

Workers Reach Comprehensive Settlement with Prominent Seafood Company

Protracted Grassroots Campaign Saw Over 75 Leading Restaurants Stop Serving Wild Edibles Products

New York, NY- Lawyers filed with a federal bankruptcy judge a global settlement agreement totaling over $340,000 and containing strong workplace protections in a high-profile set of litigation brought by workers against one of New York's leading seafood companies, Wild Edibles, Inc.

The comprehensive settlement comes after a bitterly-contested campaign in which some two-dozen recent immigrant workers and their non-profit organization, Brandworkers, used grassroots actions, media advocacy, and community organizing in an effort to win legal accountability at Wild Edibles, which supplies seafood to some of NYC's most famed restaurants in addition to operating retail seafood outlets.

"We're on top of the world today because more than anything we showed that ordinary workers can get organized, take action together, and win," said Raymundo Lara Molina, a former Wild Edibles employee and member of Brandworkers.