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JR
 
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Default Starbucks Workers Join IWW

I didn't know the "wobblies" still existed.

JR

Dan Clore > wrote in message >...
> News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
>
> Starbucks Workers Move to Unionize
> NewsMax Wires
> Wednesday, May 19, 2004
>
> New York, NY -- Starbucks workers here have organized a
> union with the Industrial Workers of the World IU/660 and
> have submitted union cards today to the NLRB for a
> certification election.
>
> The workers are poised to become the first Starbucks
> Baristas union certified in the country. Starbucks Baristas
> at the 36th and Madison location in Midtown Manhattan have
> come together in an effort to raise themselves out of
> poverty as well as to achieve respect and dignity on the
> job. The workers are calling on Starbucks to obey the law as
> the election approaches.
>
> "Behind the green aprons and smiles are individuals living
> in serious poverty," said Daniel Gross, a worker at the
> store. "Baristas are the cornerstone of a Starbucks coffee
> shop, we just deserve better. Starbucks cashes in on a
> community friendly image but it certainly doesn't extend to
> their workers or coffee farmers. That's why we went Union."
>
> Starbucks is a $15 billion company with over 7,500 locations
> around the world, but workers have most emphatically not
> shared in their success. In New York City with one of the
> highest costs of living in the world, Starbucks workers
> start at $7.75 an hour and eventually receive raises
> amounting to merely a few cents.
>
> Starbucks has also developed a scheme whereby all Baristas
> work on a part-time basis and are not guaranteed any amount
> of hours per week thus making it exceedingly difficult for
> workers to budget for necessities like rent, utilities, and
> food.
>
> "I come to work and I work hard," said Maureen Medianero,
> 23, who has worked at Starbucks for almost 2 years. "But I'm
> still hanging on by a shoe string not knowing if I can make
> ends meet to support my daughter. It's frightening."
>
> Although Starbuck workers serve an enormous volume of
> beverages, many of them extremely hot, in order to save
> money management refuses to schedule enough workers to do
> the required work safely. Instead, workers are forced to
> perform their duties at unsafe speeds with an undue level of
> physical exertion.
>
> "A Starbucks coffee shop is an ergonomic minefield. The
> stores are supposed to mimic an Italian cafe without
> considering the uncomfortable bending and reaching we have
> to do," explained Barista Anthony Polanco. "This isn't your
> mom and pop coffee shop, we're talking McDonald's busy every
> day. Starbucks talks about 'Creating Warmth' but the only
> warmth I feel is the heat pad at the end of the day."
>
> The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), founded in 1905,
> is a union dedicated to workplace democracy. IWW IU/660
> represents workers in the retail industry.
>
> --
> Dan Clore
>
> Now available: _The Unspeakable and Others_
> http://www.wildsidepress.com/index2.htm
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...edanclorenecro
> Lord We˙rdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
> http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
> News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
>
> "It's a political statement -- or, rather, an
> *anti*-political statement. The symbol for *anarchy*!"
> -- Batman, explaining the circle-A graffiti, in
> _Detective Comics_ #608