PACK THE HEARING ROOM STARTING MONDAY, MARCH 6TH!  STAND WITH IWW BARISTAS AND AGAINST STARBUCKS UNION-BUSTING!

Who:

A judge hearing testimony from senior Starbucks officials and members of the Industrial Workers of the World on allegations of threats, bribes, surveillance, discrimination, and retaliatory discharge of union employees. The IWW Starbucks Workers Union will be represented by its General Counsel, Stuart Lichten, of Schwartz, Lichten & Bright. Starbucks will be represented by Daniel Nash and Gregory Knopp of the corporate firm Akin Gump. Ironically, Nash and Knopp are the very same lawyers who were advising the company during the anti-union campaign that resulted in the federal complaint.

By New York city MTA Train Operator Harry Harrington - Industrial Worker, February 2006

The drama of the New York City transit strike began three years ago during the last contract struggle. The president of the subway and bus workers union local 100 of the Transport Workers Union went down to the deadline with threats of a strike but no preparation until, the day after the contract deadline, he accepted what members considered a terrible deal. It called for no raises in the first year of the contract, with givebacks in health benefits, discipline and job security – the future of hundreds of bus drivers and support personnel – by accepting little input in the MTA’s bus consolidation plans.

Industrial Worker - February 2006

A majority of the 15 workers at Handyfat Trading, Inc., a food wholesaler in Brooklyn that serves the Chinese food industry, have joined the IWW, and will have an NLRB election on Jan. 17. The boss has circulated a letter to Spanish-speaking warehouse workers warning that they will be replaced if they vote union and try to “interfere” with how he runs the business.

The New York IWW’s organizing in the food and warehouse industries led to an article in the Jan. 4 New York Sun, which quoted a New York City Central Labor Council official saying they are following IWW organizing closely.

“If they are now declaring themselves to have a better way to organize, I hope they’re right,” said public policy director Ed Ott. “The labor movement needs new ideas.”

Industrial Worker - February 2006

Deep in the gritty, industrial district of North Brooklyn/Queens, 15 workers of EZ Supply started the new year right by marching to their workplace and demanding that their highly abusive boss sign a petition recognizing the IWW as their union.

Little over a month earlier they had come to the workers’ night at Make The Road by Walking, and told of working long hours without being paid overtime, which ultimately amounted to being paid less than minimum wage. Sometimes the trucks would finally be loaded to the top at 3 p.m., and the workers would be told that all 25 stops in Manhattan had to be made. And they did something rarely heard of: they collectively forced their boss to rehire a fired worker, who had been fired because he hadn’t made all the stops that day.

By Tomer Malchi - Industrial Worker, February 2006

On Friday Nov. 18, Starbucks workers at Union Square publicly declared their membership in the Starbucks Workers Union.  Throughout the weekend workers showed their strength by refusing to take off union pins in the face of management attempting to enforce a no-pin policy. Our key demands were for guaranteed hours, a group meeting with management, and an end to anti-union discrimination. 

District manager Kim Vetrano informed us three days after we went public that we could not wear our pins; although pins have been worn in the past, the policy was suddenly being enforced. Vetrano also insisted there would be no group meeting. We could have one-on-one meetings with managers, but not as a group.