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This Labor Day, Starbucks Workers To Host Pro-Union ‘Sip-Ins’ Across The US

September 2, 2022 Saurav Sarkar, In These Times. , , ,
This Labor Day weekend, Starbucks workers across the country will be rolling out the red carpet to their supporters. About 100 of the coffee chain’s stores are set to hold “sip-ins” from Friday, Sept. 2 to Monday, Sept. 5. Sip-ins are loosely modeled after sit-ins, and mark designated times when supporters of a store are asked to come in, order low-priced drinks or water, and leave big tips. The events provide an opportunity for baristas and their supporters to engage in conversation about labor conditions and build community. “I’m a little nervous, but we’re excited,” said Samantha Shields, a 21-year-old barista at a Starbucks store in Washington, D.C. Her store filed to unionize in late August and is the first to organize in the city.

These Starbucks Workers Demanded Fair Pay, Then Were Accused Of Kidnapping Their Boss

August 31, 2022 Saurav Sarkar, In These Times. , , ,
Anderson, South Carolina - On August 1, Melissa Morris, a manager of a Starbucks location in Anderson, South Carolina, accused unionized workers at her store of kidnapping and assaulting her during her first week on the job. The shocking accusation resulted from workers holding a “march on the boss” to demand that they benefit from the same pay raise the company was providing to non-union stores, and, as a result, 11 workers have been suspended while the company and police investigate the issue. These workers call the allegations “ridiculous” and part of the company’s broader anti-union campaign.

Overcoming Fear And Apathy When Unionizing

August 30, 2022 Gabriela Calugay-Casuga, Rabble.ca. , , , ,
Gains are being made in the unionizing effort at different Starbucks locations across Canada after a flurry of activity in the U.S. that saw more than 200 Starbucks locations join unions this year. A handful of stores in B.C. and Alberta are joining the United Steelworkers (USW) union to win better working conditions. According to a release by the USW, Starbucks workers are joining in hopes of winning higher wages, more paid hours to avoid understaffing and better health and safety measures. In June, only one Starbucks location in Canada was unionized, according to Canadaland. Now, the USW says they represent Starbucks workers in Calgary, A.B., and Victoria, Surrey and Langley in B.C.

Scenes From A Summer Of Strikes In A South Carolina Starbucks

August 23, 2022 Aneil Tripathi, Labor Notes. , , , ,
Since the Starbucks Workers United campaign launched last fall, workers have won union authorization elections at 220 stores, and struck at least 60. The company has retaliated harshly—closing some stores, firing dozens of union leaders, claiming interference by the National Labor Relations Board, and calling for a moratorium on mail-in elections. Starbucks also barred union stores from receiving long-awaited benefits to be implemented August 1, provoking several strikes. Jonah Furman from Labor Notes spoke with Tripathi about the joys of the picket line, Starbucks’ retaliation, and how a store manager got so rattled by a collective action that she accused the workers of kidnapping her.

Minneapolis: Recently Unionized Starbucks Workers On Two-day Strike

August 20, 2022 Ellie Zimmerman, Unicorn Riot. , , , ,
Minneapolis, Minnesota – The corner of 47th Street and Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis was quiet for the first time after spirited drumming and chants of, “What’s disgusting? Union busting!” filled the air from July 31-August 1. Employees of the Cedar Avenue Starbucks had returned to work after a two-day strike in protest of the company’s refusal to bargain with the newly formed union, as well as what the workers say are backhanded attempts to undermine union efforts. Baristas and shift supervisors united to raise grievances against the manager of the location and Starbucks corporate for difficult working conditions and low pay. In a letter posted on the front door of the store, workers addressed their manager: Direction only from the top is an unjust system we refuse to participate in. You are complicit in that system.

Boston Starbucks Workers Go On Strike Against Union-Busting

July 27, 2022 Madeleine Freeman, Left Voice. , , , ,
Unionized Starbucks workers at the 874 Commonwealth Avenue location in Boston, Massachusetts are on strike indefinitely, demanding guaranteed hours, adequate staffing, and the removal of a store manager who has created a “chaotic and hostile work environment,” including making racist and homophobic comments against staff and customers. The store, which is located on the main thoroughfare of Boston University’s campus and services many of its students and staff, has been shut down since July 18; workers and their supporters have been picketing each day outside the store even as an intense heat wave strikes much of the country. They say they will prevent any deliveries from coming to the store. In response, Teamsters local 25 is refusing to make deliveries to the store in solidarity with the strike.

Starbucks Union Files Complaint: Store Closures Are Retaliation

July 15, 2022 Maxwell Parrott , In These Times. , , ,
After Starbucks announced Monday that it plans to shutter 16 U.S. stores as part of a strategy for addressing store safety, the chain’s rapidly expanding union filed a complaint alleging that the move is a form of union-busting. The coffee chain said that by the end of the month it would close six stores each in the Seattle and Los Angeles areas, two in Portland, Oregon, as well as locations in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. On Wednesday, Seattle workers from Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) — the union that has been organizing stores across the country — filed an unfair labor practice charge arguing that the closures amount to retaliation and illegal coercion against union activity. Of the 16 stores set for closure, two locations in Seattle have successfully unionized and one store in Portland is set for a union vote in August.

Starbucks Union Push In Atlanta Part Of National Organizing Trend

July 9, 2022 Michael E. Kanell, The Atlanta Journal Constitution. , , , ,
About a dozen customers were spread around the Ansley Mall Starbucks on a recent Friday, quietly working at tables or fiddling on their smartphones. From behind the counter came the tapping of brewing tools, the crinkling of wrappers, a bean-grinder straining. Two baristas wore shirts with rainbows and the words, “So glad you’re here.” The café felt laid-back, friendly, bright, welcoming and diverse. The only sign that this one was any different than 9,000 other Starbucks stores was a button, half-hidden in the folds on one barista’s apron.

Labor Notes 2022: Which Way Forward For The Movement?

June 19, 2022 Left Voice. , , ,
After decades of decline and stagnation, U.S. Labor stands at a crossroads. On one side is the same old path of the labor bureaucracy that has sold its soul to the Democratic Party and which has no vision for a renewed labor movement beyond further entrenching itself in the U.S. state. On the other side are the thousands of new young activists and workers marching to the beat of a new grassroots unionism who have the potential to build a national movement to organize millions of workers from below. The formation of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) and the victory at the Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, as well as the hundreds of new Starbucks stores that have formed unions in the last four months show the power and potential of rank-and-file organizing.

Starbucks Workers Rally After Unionized Store Abruptly Closes

June 9, 2022 MyNorthwest. , , ,
Ithaca, New York - Outside of a soon-to-be-closed Starbucks in Ithaca, N.Y. a series of union organizers, Starbucks Workers United members, local activists, political figures, and supporters, rallied in protest against Starbucks’ announcement to close the location, which they say is due to the store’s recent attempts to unionize. Speakers at the press conference urged an Ithaca-wide boycott of Starbucks and its cafés until the company negotiates to keep the Collegetown store open. Some employees still haven’t gotten word from the company about whether they’ll have jobs after the closure. “We can’t let Starbucks decide to close a union store two months after we won a vote just because all of the workers here won’t let managers talk to us however way they want to, or put us through hell,” said Benjamin South, a Collegetown Starbucks worker and one of the union’s local leaders, at the rally.

Austin Starbucks Employees Become First To Unionize In Texas

June 5, 2022 Drew Knight, Kvue. , , ,
Austin, Texas - A local Starbucks location celebrated victory Friday, becoming the state's first unionized store. KVUE first learned about the 45th Street and Lamar Boulevard location's attempts to unionize in March. The location had sent a letter to the CEO of Starbucks after another local store also announced its plans to attempt a union. At the time, Starbucks provided KVUE with the following statement: We are listening and learning from the partners in these stores as we always do across the country. From the beginning, we’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed.

These Baristas Have Been On Strike For Over Three Months

June 2, 2022 Hannah Faris , In These Times. , , , ,
Detroit, Illinois - At Great Lakes Coffee Roasters, a cafe in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood, 20 baristas have been on strike since February 16, demanding recognition of their union and a first contact. Calling themselves “Comrades in Coffee,” these workers have launched one of the first recognition strikes — a labor action forcing an employer to acknowledge a collective bargaining representative — that the city has seen in years. Their demands include higher wages and improved workplace safety and benefits. The baristas also say they want to set a new standard for cafes across Detroit, while joining a national movement of cafe organizing. The small chain employs about 24 baristas and cooks across the metro area, in the flagship cafe in Midtown and four satellite locations in local grocery stores.

How Amazon And Starbucks Workers Are Upending The Organizing Rules

June 1, 2022 Chris Brooks, In These Times. , , , ,
“Workers are reaching out to our union in unprecedented numbers,” says Alan Hanson, organizing director for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 in the Washington, D.C., area. “And they’re coming to us in a way I’ve never seen. “The checklist that staff organizers have — get a list, identify leaders, make sure the organizing committee is diverse and represents all departments and classifications — these workers are coming to us and they have already done all of that. I haven’t had four successful worker-generated organizing campaigns in my entire career and we just had four in four months.” At one of those shops, Union Kitchen, a D.C.-based grocery store, workers went on a three-day strike before their union was even certified, a level of militancy that seemed all but extinct but has now begun reappearing in nascent organizing campaigns.

Deep South Baristas Strike Starbucks

May 30, 2022 Labor Notes. , , ,
Columbia, South Carolina - Starbucks baristas in Columbia, South Carolina, returned to their jobs on Saturday, May 21, following a three-day walkout to protest anti-union retaliation. Managers began denying employees promotions and transfers several weeks ago after 22 of 28 “partners” at the Millwood Avenue store petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for union representation. The workers reached a breaking point on May 18 when a popular store manager was fired for refusing to engage in union busting. Two hours after learning of their manager’s dismissal the entire shift walked out, forcing the store to close early. “She was a large reason a lot of us were still with the company,” said barista Sophie Ryan of her former manager.

Lessons From The Starbucks Union In Chile

May 24, 2022 Andrés Giordano, Labor Notes. , , ,
The Starbucks union was founded in Chile in 2009, at the same time as big student mobilizations. These mobilizations were part of the seed that made it possible to form a union at Starbucks and in an area like fast food, which is very difficult to organize. The corporate culture of Starbucks is profoundly anti-union. Howard Schultz, who was the CEO of the company [he returned to that role in April —Eds.], is a megalomaniac who cannot bear to see his workers organizing and deciding for themselves what is right. Starbucks is one of the companies in Chile with the most fines for anti-union practices. All of that was conceived in Seattle, not in Chile. It was devised in the headquarters, where they are devising the tough campaign that you are experiencing now.
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