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starbucks workers union

Happy Mothers Day: A Working Mother at Starbucks Tells Her Story

Posted by tcsbuxunion - 10/05/09 at 11:05:58 pm

Happy Mothers Day! As we take time to honor mothers, please take a minute to learn more about the experiences of mothers working in the retail and food industry. In this video, mother of two Jamie Laudert tells her story of pregnancy, giving birth, nursing, and raising a family while holding down a job as a barista.

Celebrate May Day with the Starbucks Workers Union

Posted by tcsbuxunion - 27/04/09 at 08:04:19 am

 

Our union will be participating in several events this weekend to commemorate May Day, the International Workers Day.  Come celebrate with us!

On Friday, the Industrial Workers of the World and Starbucks Workers Union will be participating in the annual Immigrant Rights March, to fight for rights for those who are the foundation of this country.  As many voices as possible are needed for this important event.  Please come join us in demanding justice for all.

On Sunday, come watch or participate in the 35th annual Heart of the Beast May Day Parade.  Since 1975, Minnesotans have marched in the May Day Parade to celebrate community, diversity, and the possibility of change that accompanies the coming of Spring. The parade this year has a labor theme to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the pivotal 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters Strike.  This strike helped shift the balance of power in our city to working people, and was instrumental in winning the legal right to organize in our country. Many of the key organizers in the strike were former members of the IWW..  As such, our union plays a key role in the storyline for the parade. Meet up with us to watch the festivities, or if you’d like, even join in the Starbucks Workers Union contingent in the “Join In” section at the end of the parade.

Additionally, on Saturday, come celebrate  more with the IWW, Sisters Camelot and thirteen bands at the Sisters Camelot headquarters, 2657 32nd Ave. S.  Doors open at 5 PM.  The bands are: Brian Whitson and the Night Wolves, Truck Stops Across America, Ogre Smash Death Boom, Holy!Holy!Holy!, Building Better Bombs, Bla Bla Blacksheep, Nancy Drew Crew, Junkyard Empire, Shannon Murray, Bouncer Fighter, Clawthroat, Black Sails, Terracide, ShugE.  Some of these bands should sound familiar if you were at our benefit show in January.  It was a great show, and this one should be even greater! The suggested donation is $5-$10. Proceeds will benefit the IWW and Sisters Camelot.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, due to some fire code issues, the show for Saturday night had to be moved to a different venue.  If you are still interested in coming, please contact us, by emailing tcsbuxunion@gmail.com.

SEIU Local 26 Endorses Starbucks Workers Union Campaign.

Posted by tcsbuxunion - 10/04/09 at 01:04:15 pm

The Service Employees International Union, Local 26, based in the Twin Cities, on Monday, April 6th, voted to support the IWW Starbucks Workers Union.  They join an increasing number of influential union locals in support of our campaign to win workplace democracy at Starbucks.  This should send an increasingly strong message to Starbucks that we are not alone.  We stand in solidarity and mutual support with workers everywhere!

SEIU Local 26 represents 5,000 janitors, security officers, and window cleaners in the Twin Cities area in collective bargaining.  The International Union represents nearly a quarter million workers in building services.  Many of the workers they represent work in downtown Minneapolis in building services.  Union officers were excited at the prospect of being able to buy union-made coffee from Starbucks locations downtown, and throughout the area.  The next time you see a union janitor, security guard, or window cleaner, let them know you are glad to stand together with them for labor rights!

SEIU Local 26 joins Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 12, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3800, Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 7250, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 789, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees Local 201, Aircraft mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) Local 33, Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) - UMN Twin Cities, and Macalester Students for a Democratic Society, and hundreds of individuals in our communities in supporting us.  Find out more about each of these organizations in our “Allies” section.

Howard the Coward: The Day My Boss Ran Away

Posted by Joe - 10/03/09 at 09:03:50 pm

03/03/09- The time is 8:55 AM, 5 minutes before my alarm clock was supposed to sound I am awoken by a text message which says that Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO and #1 union buster, is having a press conference at the Oak and Rush Starbucks location. I jump out of bed, get dressed, and haul downtown. By the time I get there, the news cameras are gone. I look around and there he is sitting behind a merchandise wall in an interview with a few reporters. I order an Iced Tall Passion Tea… no need for caffeine, I’m fired up.

My old District Manager is in the cafe greeting customers and she asks me why I’m there. “Just getting a drink,” I respond. She then proceeds to make a call on her cell phone, obviously calling upper management. After I get my beverage, I find a seat, set my bag down, and I approach him.

“Mr . Schultz?,” I say as I reach out to shake his hand and he stands up, “My name is Joe Tessone, I’m a member of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union, I’d love to talk with you for a few minutes before you leave today.”

Taken off guard he says, “I’m in a meeting right now. We can talk when I’m done.” So I sit patiently at the table next to them, sipping on a my tart beverage. About 10 minutes go by and their interview ends.

Again, I approach the man. “Mr. Schultz. I have been a Starbucks partner for over 4 and a 1/2 years. Three years ago, my coworkers and I gave the company a list of things that were of major concern to us and we have, for the past three years, been ignored by the company. We would like you to sit down at the negotiation table with us to discuss our concerns and needs.”

Immediately, he started to walk backwards away from me. “I don’t have time for this. I have a phone conference to be on,” he said nervously as he turned around and scampered to the back door of the the cafe. “Don’t turn your back on us like this, Howard! Baristas are living in poverty!” I exclaimed. He then disappeared out the emergency exit.

Without hesitation, the Chicago Regional Director enters the scene and asks me if I’d like to sit down and talk with her. Generally, I won’t talk with management without another union member present, but this was a special occasion.

She then started spewing out baseless talking points about “Optimal Scheduling:” the newest tactic in Starbucks’ war against its workers. “It will create full time positions for partners and those who are part time will fill in the gaps,” she said. I asked her if that meant guaranteed hours for full time workers. “We cannot guarantee anything,” she responded.

Essentially, what it comes down to is that they are going to lay off workers who do not “fit into the the new system,” part timers will “fill in the gaps” and will not receive enough hours to qualify for benefits, and so-called full timers will not be guaranteed any number of hours. Basically, nothing will change except that people who cannot comply with the unreasonable expectations for availability will be fired.

Throughout the conversation I kept asking her to meet with the union as a group, since they have continually responded with the exact same talking point, “I am willing to meet with anybody as an individual.” She, of course, kept to the script.

After hearing her say that at least a dozen times, I told her to stop avoiding my question. “Are you willing to meet with us as a collective organization of baristas? It’s a yes or no question.” She responded again with the same talking point, but tagged on “I’m not avoiding your question” to the the front of it.

The conversation continued along the same lines for a few more minutes and I asked in a different way, “You are telling me that you are unwilling then to meet with us as a group. Am I correct in saying that?” She paused a second, looked away, and said “If that is the way you want to look at it…” I then thanked her for her time, picked up my bag, and walked away.

Diplomacy requires a willingness to negotiate. It is unfortunate for everyone that they are so stubborn. The company is spending hundreds of dollars per hour trying to fight us with lawyers while baristas are next to homelessness. We won’t back down. The struggle continues. Howie, you can run, but you can’t hide.

“The Starbucks Problem”

Posted by Erik - 13/02/09 at 02:02:25 am

Last month, anonymous sources posted a secret conference call hosted by Bank of America on the website Wikileaks.org. The leaked audio file provides the public with a rare window into the paranoid and anxiety-ridden conscience of the corporate elite. On the call, Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus, corporate executives, right-wing activists, and notorious anti-union lobbyist Rick Berman rail against the possibility of a revitalized labor movement, with Marcus referring to unionization of retail as the “demise of a civilization.”One participant coins the term the “Starbucks Problem,” referring to the possibility that workers will simply form their own unions, rather than waiting for the lethargic union establishment to initiate organizing drives.

The conference call was prompted by the potential passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). If it passes, EFCA will change US labor law to require employers to bargain with a union if 50%+1 of the workforce in any workplace sign union authorization cards. This would replace the current process, which creates delays of several weeks between the signing of authorization cards and an NLRB-supervised election, leaving the bosses plenty of time to fire or intimidate union supporters.

Many trade unionists pin their hopes for a revitalized labor movement on the passage of EFCA. They hope that card-check provisions, combined with stiffer penalties for union-busting will allow them to sign up millions of new members in the service industry. Of course, requiring employers to bargain does nothing to ensure the internal democracy or power of the new union. The Industrial Worker, newspaper of the Industrial Workers of the World, recently published a particularly lucid expression of this critique.

If Corporate America is anxious about the growth of the Change to Win or the AFL-CIO unions, it was clear from this conference call that “The Starbucks Problem” leaves them absolutely terrified. In a tone verging on hysteria, one executive on the call worried that proactive groups of workers will simply start their own unions, as we have done at Starbucks with the help of the Industrial Workers of the World.

Of course, the IWW has been organizing at Starbucks since long before EFCA was a glimmer in the AFL-CIO’s eye. We know that workers don’t need professional staff, expensive lawyers, or government recognition to organize an independent voice on the job. What the corporate elites call “The Starbucks Problem”, we call “Solidarity Unionism.” And whether EFCA passes or not, we will continue building solidarity with our coworkers, making demands, and winning gains for workers at even the largest corporate chains.

With or without the Employee Free Choice Act, the “Starbucks Problem” is going to get a lot bigger than Starbucks.

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