Please circulate widely.

On the 21st August Chris Lockwood, union organiser and member of the Industrial Workers of the World was fired from his bar job at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield (UK). This has been part of a long campaign by management of picking off and isolating workers who have voiced objections to recent changes that have worsened the conditions of all who work there. The Showroom cinema is a registered charity and claims to be an "investor in people", yet has consistently attacked workers pay and conditions with the sole aim of greater profits.

We believe that every worker (no matter what the industry) is entitled to respect and should be organised to defend themselves in the work place. Chris’ firing represents a direct and illegal attack against union organising. Management have refused our request to review his dismissal, so on the 12th of September members of the Industrial Workers of the World will be picketing the Showroom cinema to demand the immediate reinstatement of Chris Lockwood.

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By LAUREN SHEPHERD
AP BUSINESS WRITER

August 29, 2008

NEW YORK -- A barista who said he was fired from Starbucks Corp. for helping to organize fellow workers into a union has been given his job back.

In a preliminary reinstatement agreement dated Aug. 14 obtained by The Associated Press, Starbucks said its firing of employee Erik Forman was "ill-considered and should be reversed."

Forman said he will start back at work on Sunday at the same Mall of America location in Minnesota that he was fired from in July.

When he worked there, Forman said he had been talking to employees at his own store and at other stores in the area about joining the Industrial Workers of the World union.

In an interview, Forman said although several other employees at the store were members of the union, "I was the most vocal and the most active."

Starbucks spokeswoman Tara Darrow confirmed that Forman was being given his job back but said his firing and reinstatement had nothing to do with his support for the union.

"We don't track our partners' involvement in those organizations," Darrow said.

Forman said he was fired July 10 after he received a "final written warning" for showing up half an hour late to work. The warning followed two prior instances of tardiness a year earlier. Once a final written warning is issued, an employee may be fired.

Forman said he had expected a warning after showing up late for work, but not a final warning. Some employees are given half a dozen or more warnings before receiving a final one, he said, adding that managers frequently choose not to give warnings to well-liked employees.

In the agreement, Starbucks called Forman's firing "an unfortunate series of events." Darrow characterized it as "a mistake."

Besides giving him back his job, Starbucks is also paying Forman about $2,000 in back pay, he said.

Forman said he believes Starbucks reinstated him partly due to pressure from the IWW and other Starbucks workers. His co-workers at the Mall of America store walked out of work the day after he was fired in protest and Forman said about 50 Starbucks employees in the area signed a petition asking the company to give him his job back.

Forman also said he filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Starbucks with the National Labor Relations Board the day after he was fired.

Darrow said the filing of complaint did not influence Starbucks' decision to re-hire Forman and that the company reviewed the situation at Forman's request.

Although Starbucks has asked him to voluntarily withdraw the NLRB complaint now that he has his job back, Forman said he still intends to pursue it.

"The law was violated," Forman said. "They haven't given me any guarantee that this will not happen again."

Robert Chester, regional director for the NLRB in Minneapolis, confirmed that Forman filed the complaint in July and said the office is investigating.

If the NLRB deems that a law was broken, it will attempt to negotiate a settlement between Forman and Starbucks. If they don't agree to a settlement, the case would then go to court.

In 2006, Starbucks entered into a settlement with the NLRB to resolve a complaint filed by New York City workers attempting to organize a union at a Starbucks store. In that settlement, Starbucks rehired two employees that had been fired and posted a notice in three stores for 60 days affirming the rights of workers to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act.

Starbucks also settled with the NLRB in a 2007 Grand Rapids, Mich. case that involved bulletin board postings and an alleged comment made by a manager that an employee said was threatening.

Darrow said Starbucks did not admit to any wrongdoing in either settlement agreement and that the company decided to settle the cases to save both time and expense for all parties.

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What does political-economy mean? 

It means that the wealth we create as workers is owned and controlled by our masters.  The control is political.  We create the economy.  We create capital.  The owners decide what to do with what we've created, once they've paid us wages for what we have agreed to sell our skills for and what they've agreed to buy them for.  

What is useful for the capitalists is to make money.  Money is the measure of all things for them.  Count it.  It is a quantitative measure of what they have had us produce.  Remember, they control what is produced by us.  

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Here is another nice article about Oscura; the new Furthermore beer brewed with La FEM grown, JC-roasted coffee.

Read it, if you please. And then drink some of them Oscuras. If you are not driving, you can maybe have more than one. You can find Furthermore at these places.

Thanks Furthermore and FEM!

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Die Organisierung illegaler LagerarbeiterInnen in Brooklyn / New York. Eine Veranstaltungs-Tour mit Stephanie Basile (IWW New York) vom 2.-15 September 2008

Die IWW im deutschsprachigen Raum organisiert, in Kooperation mit lokalen gewerkschaftlichen Gruppen und Initiativen, eine Reihe von Veranstaltungen in 9 Städten, um über den Kampf von New Yorker LagerarbeiterInnen zu informieren, Solidarität zu ermöglichen und einen Beitrag zur Debatte über selbstorganisierte gewerkschaftliche Strategien im Kampf gegen Ausbeutungsverhältnisse und rassistische Diskriminierung zu leisten. (Termine siehe unten)

Seit 2005 organisieren sich ArbeiterInnen in den New Yorker Hafenstadtteilen Brooklyn und Queens, um gegen ihre extremen Arbeitsbedingungen zu kämpfen. Sie arbeiten über 60 Stunden die Woche, weit unter Mindestlohn, ohne Kranken- und Sozialversicherung. Viele von ihnen sind illegal in den USA, die meisten aus Lateinamerika. Ihnen droht, wenn sie ihre elementaren Rechte einfordern, nicht nur die Kündigung, sondern auch die Abschiebung.

Dennoch haben sich im Laufe der Zeit die Beschäftigten von 10 Lagerhäusern der IWW angeschlossen, einer kleinen militanten internationalen Basisgewerkschaft, die seit 1905 abseits etablierter Gewerkschaftsstrukturen aktiv ist. Die New Yorker IWW arbeitet regelmäßig zusammen mit „Make the Road by Walking“ (Hace el camino caminado), einer Initiative, die Community-Zentren in migrantischen Vierteln betreibt (derzeit in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Woodside and Jackson Heights, Queens and Port Richmond, Staten Island).

Stephanie Basile (24) ist Mitglied der IWW New York City. Sie ist in der Kampagne aktiv und wird erläutern, wie die IWW versucht, in einem Dreikampf aus Protest, Boykott und Gerichts-Prozessen, die Ausbeuter in die Knie zu zwingen.

Das Programm:

• 30 Min. Vortrag auf Englisch + deutsche Übersetzung
• Zwei Aktions-Videos aus Brooklyn mit englischen Untertiteln
• Fragen und Antworten

Stuttgart: Dienstag 2.9. um 18 Uhr, DGB-Haus (Kellerschenke), Willi-Bleicher-Str. 20, veranstaltet von: Zukunftsforum Stuttgarter Gewerkschaften

Frankfurt/M: Donnerstag 4.9. um 20 Uhr, Türkisches Volkshaus, Werrastr. 29, veranstaltet von: IWW Frankfurt

Marburg: Freitag, 5.9. um 20.30 Uhr, Cafe am Grün, veranstaltet von: Arbeitsgemeinschaft für gewerkschaftliche Fragen

Köln: Samstag 6.9. um 20 Uhr, Allerweltshaus, Körnerstr. 77-79, veranstaltet von: IWW Köln

Bochum: Montag 8.9. um 19.30, Bahnhof Langendreer, Wallbaumweg 108 Veranstaltet von: LabourNet Germany und Kulturzentrum Bahnhof Langendreer

Wuppertal: Dienstag 9.9. um 19 Uhr, Alte Feuerwache, Gathe 6 (Elberfeld) Veranstaltet von: Basisinitiative Solidarität (BaSo)

Bremen: Mittwoch 10.9. um 20 Uhr in der Buchtstr.14/15, veranstaltet von: FAU Bremen

Hamburg: Donnerstag 11.9. um 18.30 Uhr im Curiohaus, Rothenbaumchaussee 15, veranstaltet von: Jour Fixe Gewerkschaftslinke

Göttingen: Freitag 12.9. um 19 Uhr im DGB-Haus, Obere Masch 10, veranstaltet von: Göttinger Betriebsexpress

Berlin: Montag 15.9. um 20 Uhr im FAU-Lokal, Straßburger Str. 38, veranstaltet von: FAU Berlin

Es erwarten uns spannende Diskussionen: - über die Arbeits- und Kampfbedingungen der illegalen LagerarbeiterInnen - über die Situation der Gewerkschaften und sozialen Bewegungen in den USA - über das Konzept des „solidarity unionism“ als Organisierungsansatz - über die Möglichkeiten internationaler Solidarität und Gegenmacht der ArbeiterInnen.

Infos / Links:

“Wobblies organize Brooklyn Warehouses” - The Brooklyn Rail Nr. 4/2007 (engl.)
Update über den Stand der Auseinandersetzungen - Industrial Worker, Juni 2008 (engl.)
IWW Lagerarbeiter gefeuert - Nachricht auf wobblies.de vom 16. Januar 2007

The 2008 version of "Where Your Money Goes" is now loaded on the right sidebar of our homepage.

Please notice that almost every cost has gone up in the past year.

The cool part of that is that we are paying growers more money. The downside is that other costs have gone up as well.

Another note-- We have largely switched to 12oz bags, but the breakdown is in pounds. This is because we deal in pounds when we buy coffee from farmers and because we sell in two pound and five pound bags as well. To get the right equation for 12-ouncers, please take .75 of the costs presented. Except for bags and labels which are good to go.

This is another piece of the JC Transparency Project. We will have more coming. Please see our supply chain and profit and loss statements for even more info on what in the heck we are doing here.

And if you like the idea of being up front with traditionally guarded business info, ask other companies you buy from to show you the same.

Oh, and remember the "retail mark up" is controlled by the store you buy from, not JC. That percentage will vary from place to place.

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Mark T Spark has officially moved on -- Last weekend we moved all of him... and his stuff to Lincoln NE .. --Click Here for some of the photos
-- He didn't have much time to relax once we got there ...Deb started his barista training as soon as we arrived -- "man who can catch fly with chopsticks will make good barista" wax on wax off --- He has a beautiful new family and it was as happy as it was sad to say goodbye -- I will miss him so much in the day to day around Madison. My family and I have eaten a good number of meals at his house we will miss that the most - supper at his house is always as good for the palate as it is for the soul. I guess its just a bit more of a drive now --- Mark Deb and Jonah -- we will see you soon!!!!

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(Forwarded from Labourstart)

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Demand that the ABCC be abolished and charges be dropped against Noel Washington

Where: - Kervin Rudd's Electoral Office, 630 Wynnum Road, Morningside

MORE:

http://bushtelegraph.wordpress.com/2008/07/31/construction-workers- campaign-for-equal-rights/

The ABCC has charged an VIC CFMEU official Noel Washington for refusing
to give evidence on discussions with union members, join us in calling
for the abolition of the ABCC and the dropping of charges against Noel
Washington.

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Correction to back page: Next Melbourne GMB meeting is on Saturday 30th August at Loophole, 834a High Street, Thornbury. Contact delegate for further details.

From a recent editorial in the very influential bourgeois newspaper, "The Washington Post":

"Yet Mr. Obama's account of his strategic vision remains eccentric. He insists that Afghanistan is 'the central front' for the United States, along with the border areas of Pakistan. But there are no known al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan, and any additional U.S. forces sent there would not be able to operate in the Pakistani territories where Osama bin Laden is headquartered. While the United States has an interest in preventing the resurgence of the Afghan Taliban, the country's strategic importance pales beside that of Iraq, which lies at the geopolitical center of the Middle East and contains some of the world's largest oil reserves. If Mr. Obama's antiwar stance has blinded him to those realities, that could prove far more debilitating to him as president than any particular timetable."

Translation: "The 'global war on terror is just a front.  It's all about oil."

Chadron F. T. D.

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Furthermore brewery of Spring Green, WI has just released their delicious new coffee beer Oscura, and we couldn't be more excited. This incredible lager is cold brewed with La FEM's medium roast coffee producing a sweet aromatic goodness and a wide awake drunk.

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A small demonstration called by London IWW took place last week in support of another radical union, 'Workers' Initiative' (Inicjatiwa Pracownicza) in Poland. It was called to support WI members being discriminated against in the Polish postal service, and particularly the sacking of a member - Bartosz Kantorczyk - for his lead role in a wave of strikes last year. The IWW is demanding his reinstatement and back-pay from the date of his termination.

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The Gardeners of Eden East Timor Seed Project is calling for support for its 2009 program. You can help by sending seeds or making donations. With global food stockpiling and rising prices, Timorese families need to renovate their traditional farming systems organically and address the annual hunger and nutrition gaps, as well as invest carefully in other crops (forestry and small-commercial farming systems) sufficient to support trading. To do this, they need seeds, tools, supplies, and training.

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By Anthony Nadler , TC Daily Planet
July 23, 2008

This week the Mall of America (MOA) became an unusual site for the return of a group once thought to be a relic of Minnesota’s radical union past – the Industrial Workers of the World. Yesterday a group of workers at a MOA Starbucks delivered a letter to their management announcing their affiliation with the I.W.W. union and making a number of demands about working conditions and compensation.

The Starbucks Workers Union, part of the Industrial Workers of the World, has been organizing Starbucks workers for more than four years in cities across the U.S. including New York, Chicago, Grand Rapids, MI, and Minneapolis. The union claims to have over 200 current and former Starbucks employees as members nationally. This is their first public union action in Minnesota. The demands of the MOA Starbucks workers include calls for a living wage, automatic cost-of-living pay increases, and an expanded tuition reimbursement program. One of the benefits often advertised in Starbucks’s employment promotions is tuition benefits. A detailed explanation of the benefits packages on Starbucks website says this benefit will be considered only for “accredited courses relating to Starbucks business.” Union members say the tuition benefit is given only for study in areas relevant to future Starbucks employment.

The union action comes at a sensitive time for Starbucks, just after the company announced they would be closing over 600 stores nationwide and 27 in Minnesota. While neither of the two Starbucks locations at the Mall of America is slated for closure, the workers letter of demands also asks for fair severance packages for workers at closing stores.

Yesterday’s letter of demands comes on the heels of another controversial incident at the Mall of America I Starbucks. On July 11, Erik Forman, a former employee, filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (N.L.R.B) claiming he had been fired the previous day as retaliation for union activity. After Forman’s firing, five workers attempted to get management to reverse the decision through a petition and a short work stoppage. Supporters collected just over 50 signatures from Starbucks workers around the Twin Cities in a petition of support for Forman. Speaking for concerned employees, Jake Bell, a current MOA Starbucks worker, said, “We’re afraid that if Starbucks is willing to break the law to fire Erik, they might fire any of us.” [Editor’s note: Full disclosure—Jake Bell also works with the TC Daily Planet.]

In New York City, where the Starbucks Workers Union has also been active, the N.L.R.B. has accused Starbucks of at least 30 violations. In one settlement, Starbucks agreed to rehire two fired workers. Starbucks Workers Union sources also say their organizing has been instrumental to significant pay increases for New York City workers.

Five Starbucks workers participating at a press conference today at the Mall of America said that they were first attracted to employment with the company because of its reputation for generous benefits and social responsibility. However, they felt that reputation had proved illusionary. Workers participating in today’s press conference said Starbucks baristas are all making much less than a living wage (with salaries starting at $7.60/hour), facing hurdles to get enough hours needed to maintain eligibility for their health benefits and many are not in the position to be able to pay for the premiums and co-pays of company health packages if available. Starbucks requires employees work 160 hours every two months to qualify for healthcare packages in which the company covers a portion of insurance costs. Workers at the press conference today said it is not always possible for employees to secure enough hours on regular basis to qualify for these benefits.

The I.W.W. is a unique union in many respects. Since the early 1900s, the I.W.W. has tried to organize all workers regardless of race, gender and level of skill. They have tended to favor direct action by workers rather than working through governmental mediation or electoral politics. According to Macalester College labor historian Peter Rachleff, the I.W.W. was very active in the 1920s and went into a slump in following decades due to government repression and the success of more powerful unions. Rachleff says the public re-emergence of the I.W.W. now is partially “in response to globalization, economic neoliberalism, and the inability of official unions to develop strategies to resist corporate onslaught.” The Starbucks Workers Union is open to all Starbucks employees and does not require members pay dues.

Local union members would not say if they had plans for any further public actions. Starbucks has not returned phone and email requests for comments and specific information about this story.