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Why Walmart Wants To See The Starbucks Barista Strike Fail

Thousands of Starbucks workers across a hundred cities are nearly one month into an expanding, nationwide unfair labor practice strike in protest of the coffee giant’s “historic union busting and failure to finalize a fair union contract,” according to Starbucks Workers United, the barista union that has spread to over 650 stores since its birth in Buffalo four years ago. The strike comes after years of illegal anti-union antics by Starbucks and follows a historic $39 million settlement announced on December 1 for more than 500,000 labor violations committed by Starbucks management in New York City since 2021.

Maybe A General Strike Isn’t So Impossible Now

Trump’s attacks on working people—threats to send troops into major U.S. cities, ripping collective bargaining rights from a million federal workers, an immigration enforcement terror campaign that borders on unconstitutional—have been so extreme that many people are talking about a general strike. These calls are coming not just from the usual suspects, but even from my own mayor, former Chicago Teachers Union leader and organizer Brandon Johnson. We’ve all heard calls for a general strike before—usually not as a serious proposal or strategy, but as a reaction to the attacks that working people face on a regular basis from existing political and economic power.

News, Not Slop

Politico and E&E News journalists announced a major victory in arbitration this week, successfully arguing that Politico management violated the workers’ collective bargaining agreement by unilaterally introducing two artificial intelligence tools for news coverage without providing notice or bargaining over their implementation. Per the workers’ union–the PEN Guild, part of the Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild-CWA–it’s one of the first major arbitration cases concerning AI practices in journalism, setting a powerful precedent.

The Red Cup Rebellion Grows

Nationwide – The Red Cup Rebellion continues to expand on Thursday, day 22 of the longest unfair labor practice (ULP) strike in the coffee giant’s history. With the addition of hundreds of union Starbucks baristas from 26 new stores joining the picket lines, 3,000 baristas from 145+ stores across 105+ cities are now engaged in the open-ended ULP strike. Baristas’ ULP strike began on Red Cup Day, November 13 and has grown each week since as they protest Starbucks’ historic union busting and failure to finalize a fair union contract. 

The Ontario Federation Of Labour Adopts ‘Hot Cargo’ Resolution

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) became the fourth Canadian labour federation to adopt a hot cargo resolution against Israeli goods last week. The resolution has the OFL declare trade relationships and services with Israel to be “hot cargo” that workers will not touch. “Hot cargo” is used to define goods that workers will not handle due to its association with exploitation or oppression. The New Brunswick Federation of Labour was the first to adopt a resolution supporting the boycott of Israel when it passed a resolution against handling weapons bound for Israel in May. Since then, three other provincial federations of labour have taken similar actions in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario.

Italy Holds Third General Strike In Three Months

Italy is on general strike for the third time in less than three months, following a call by the grassroots union Unione Sindacale di Base (USB). Pickets, industrial actions, and demonstrations were organized in over 40 cities, with massive rallies demanding an end to rearmament plans and the war budget shaped by Giorgia Meloni’s government. On Friday, workers stressed that their mobilization is tied both to worsening material conditions at home and to international events, specifically the struggle of the Palestinian people – whose fate, they insist, is inseparable from Europe’s expanding war economy.

Starbucks Workers’ Union Escalates Strike On Black Friday

The Starbucks workers’ union said on Friday it is escalating an indefinite strike to more than 120 stores and 85 cities, demanding higher pay and staffing levels at the coffee chain. The walkout, which is set to be the longest strike in the history of Starbucks, began on its Red Cup Day on November 13 with 65 stores and more than 40 cities. The strike comes on Black Friday, the busiest time of the year for retailers when shoppers hunt for bargains on everything from food and groceries to apparel and appliances. Workers also went on strike at Amazon warehouses in Germany on Black Friday, aiming to disrupt operations on a key sales day as they push for a collective bargaining agreement, with separate protests also planned outside Zara stores in Spain.

Historic Win For Italy’s Metal Workers

Last week Italy’s metal workers secured a major victory as the unions Fim, Fiom and Uilm, all affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union, signed the renewed National Collective Labour Agreement (NCLA) with Federmeccanica and Assistal after four days of continuous and intense negotiations. The agreement covers more than 1.5 million workers across the country and guarantees a €205(US$ 237.17) increase on minimum contractual salaries over four years, which the unions say is essential to protecting wages amid rising living costs and economic uncertainty.

Starbucks Baristas Bring ‘Red Cup Rebellion’ To CEO’s Office

Unionized Starbucks baristas rallied Monday outside the Newport-Beach office of the Seattle-based company’s chief executive to demand better pay, staffing and scheduling — continuing a “Red Cup Rebellion” unfair labor practice strike that includes stores in Orange County. Carrying picket signs that read “Now Brewing: Corporate Greed” and chanting, “No Contract, No Coffee” rallying workers accused the coffee retailer of refusing to respond to employees’ demands after an offer by company negotiators was rejected by bargaining delegates in April, according to a union news release Monday.

Another Crack In The Amazon Empire

Shepherdsville, KY - Another crack in the Amazon empire has been exposed. This time, in a breakthrough for workers across the world trying to organize the notoriously anti-union monopoly, Amazon CDL drivers at the SDF9 warehouse here have become the first company tractor-trailer drivers nationwide to organize with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The drivers, part of the Amazon Transportation Operations Management (TOM) Team, voted to join Teamsters Local 89 after a year of clandestine organizing to shield their campaign from the company’s well-documented, multi-million-dollar union-busting apparatus.

RWU Opposes Merger, Responds To Latest Fratricide In Rail Labor

When Railroad Workers United (RWU) was founded in 2008, delegates agreed that rail labor’s strength depends on solidarity, unity, and democracy across all crafts. That remains our position today. Sentiment alone does not win better wages, benefits, and working conditions; strategy and coordinated action do. As Eugene V. Debs reminded us, the success of the labor movement rests on real - not rhetorical - solidarity. Unfortunately, recent developments have undermined these principles. In its latest statement, SMART-TD abandoned solidarity, unity, and democratic process.

Union Power Wins: Baltimore Library Workers Get Jobs Back

Fourteen part-time librarians at the Baltimore County Public Library received a jarring email on the afternoon of Nov. 12. BCPL leadership’s email informed them that they would no longer have jobs. The mass firing came just ahead of the holiday season and without any advance notice. All 14 are members of the International Association of Machinists Local 4538, which represents the several hundred BCPL workers and the staff of a nearby Apple Store. Several of those fired were particularly active members of their union. One of the fired librarians is an active union steward and member of the Local’s bargaining committee.

Warehouse Workers At UNFI March On The Boss

Lancaster, TX – In a bold display of unity and shop-floor power, warehouse workers at United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) in Lancaster marched on management this past Monday, November 17, to deliver a clear message – they are forming a union, and they want it recognized now. The UNFI workers have been organizing to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 745. Workers from across the sprawling distribution center walked from the parking lot, across the floor together and confronted supervisors in their office, demanding immediate recognition of their union.

Unifor Workers Threaten To Occupy GM Plant

Unifor Local 88 has threatened to take over the GM CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ontario if the company attempts to remove anything from the building. This comes after GM announced last month that it was pausing production of an electric cargo van at the plant which put more than 1,000 jobs at risk.  Members of Unifor Local 88, which represents the workers employed by the plant, quickly took to the streets to call for the protection of Canadian jobs.  “For nearly four decades, Unifor Local 88 members at the GM CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll have built vehicles that drive Canada’s auto industry forward,” a web post by Unifor reads.

Protestors Block Trucks From York Starbucks Distribution Center

York County, PA — Seven days into union baristas’ nationwide, open-ended unfair labor practices (ULP) strike, over one hundred Pennsylvania Starbucks Baristas gathered outside Starbucks’ York distribution center Wednesday to protest. The center, located on1605 Bartlett Dr., is the largest on the east coast for the coffee giant. According to organizers, it services the entire northeast region. Protesters formed a blockade to stop trucks from delivering supplies to the distribution center, holding large banners which read, “No contract, no Starbucks” and “Grind to a halt”. A picket line formed at the entrance of the distribution center.
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