World's first Starbucks strike spreads in New Zealand
Submitted on Wed, 11/30/2005 - 5:38am
Walkout by employees at 10 stores linked to employee exploitation by fast food chains around the world
Auckland - Workers at Starbucks shops across Auckland have walked off the job in the world’s first strike against the global coffee chain.What began as a small protest at one store became a city-wide strike when Starbucks workers learned that managers were being brought in to cover the shifts of striking workers.
Simon Oosterman of supersizemypay.com, the campaign coordinator, said Starbucks' handling of the situation managed to turn an event highlighting "the poor conditions of low pay and minimum wage workers" at one location into "a show of solidarity and strength" by employees across the city.
“More than 30 workers spontaneously walked out from 10 different Auckland Starbucks stores to join KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonalds employees, and around 150 other supporters outside the (Karangahape) store,” he said.
“Starbucks workers continued their solidarity despite being threatened with being sacked for abandonment of shift if they did not return after one hour. The only people being abandoned are Starbucks workers.”
Daniel Gross, co-founder of the Starbucks workers' union (Industrial Workers of the World) in New York, called the strike an important step towards changing working conditions in the fast-food sector all over the world.
“The Kiwi Starbucks workers are making a stand for baristas around the world. We get paid what amounts to a poverty wage and there are no guaranteed hours. Starbucks have record turnovers every year, but none of that money makes it into the workers pockets,” said Gross.
“This is a signal that minimum wage workers from around the world are fed up with living on the poverty line."
Oosterman said multinational companies are taking advantage of people in vulnerable situations.
“Our campaign isn’t just about fair pay at work, it’s about social justice. Poverty-wages are increasing the gap between rich and poor and increasing other social inequalities. The majority of low paid and minimum wage workers are women, Maori, pacific islanders, disabled, youth, students and new migrants,” he said.
The New Zealand minimum wage for 18-year-olds and over is $9.50 ($7.75 Cdn). It is $7.60 ($6.20 Cdn) for 16 and 17-year-olds. There is no youth rate for 15-year-olds. NUPGE
Web posted by NUPGE: 30 November 2005