Be INFORMED

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Starbucks Guilty Of Union-Busting

    This was reported in the New York Times on December 24th.

The IWW Scores Big Victory Over Global Coffee Chain
New York, NY (Dec. 23, 2008)—Following a lengthy trial here last year, a National Labor Relations Board judge has found Starbucks guilty of extensive violations of federal labor law in its bid to counter the IWW Starbucks Workers Union. In an 88-page decision, Judge Mindy E. Landow found, among other things, that Starbucks maintained multiple policies which interfered with workers' right to communicate about the union and about working conditions; terminated three workers in retaliation for union activity; and repeatedly discriminated against union supporters. The decision comes despite a 2006 New York settlement in which Starbucks pledged to stop illegal anti-union activities and mirrors federal government action against the company for its conduct toward baristas in Minnesota and Michigan.
"The judge's decision coupled with previous government findings expose Starbucks for what it is—a union-busting corporation that will go to staggering lengths to interfere with the right to freedom of association," said Daniel Gross, a barista and member of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union found to have been unlawfully terminated by the coffee giant. "In these trying economic times of mass layoffs and slashed work hours, it's more important than ever that Starbucks and every corporation is confronted with a social movement that insists on the right to an independent voice on the job."
The Board decision is the latest blow against a company that has experienced a stunning fall from grace. From a precipitous decrease in customer demand to its increasingly tattered socially responsible image, the myriad of challenges facing Starbucks has resulted in the company losing over half its value from just a year ago. The decision also represents a significant victory for the IWW Starbucks Workers Union which continues to grow across the country with baristas taking creative and determined actions to improve the security of work hours and win respect on the job. Starbucks faces another Labor Board trial next month in Grand Rapids, Michigan over illegal union-busting.
"For the first time, a judge has confirmed the existence of a nationally coordinated anti-union operation at Starbucks," said Stuart Lichten, the attorney for the IWW Starbucks Workers Union in the case. "This decision conclusively establishes Starbucks' animosity toward labor organizing."
The union is confident that Judge Landow's copiously documented and well-reasoned 88-page decision will be upheld by the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. should Starbucks appeal. The victory is sure to be gratifying for the union's international supporters who conducted spirited global days of action in defense of Isis Saenz, Joe Agins, Jr., and Daniel Gross after their terminations which the Board has now found to be unlawful.
The National Labor Relations Board attorneys on the case were Burt Pearlstone and Audrey Eveillard. The union's attorney Stuart Lichten is a partner at Schwartz, Lichten & Bright, a prominent New York City labor law firm. Starbucks was represented by union-avoidance lawyers Daniel Nash, Stacey Eisenstein, and Nicole Morgan at corporate firm Akin Gump.
The IWW Starbucks Workers Union is an organization of almost 300 current and former Starbucks employees united for a living wage, secure work hours, and respect on the job. Founded in 2004, the union uses direct action, litigation, and advocacy to both make systemic improvements at Starbucks and take on the company over unfair treatment of individual baristas.
The Industrial Workers of the World (iww.org) is a rank and file labor union dedicated to democracy in the workplace and global solidarity.

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Thursday, January 08, 2009

Starbucks Facing More Union Busting Charges

   Back on December 27,2008, I reported that Starbucks was found guilty of extensive violations of federal labor law in its bid to counter the IWW Starbucks Workers Union.

  Well, now it seems that the firm is in hot water once again. Some corporations never learn, I guess.

Dollars&Sense

(Minneapolis) On the heels of a landmark decision finding Starbucks guilty of almost 30 labor violations in New York City, the IWW Starbucks Workers Union has slapped the embattled coffee giant with nearly 30 additional counts of illegal union-busting in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The union alleges that Starbucks broke federal law repeatedly by interrogating workers about union sympathies, instructing supervisors to spy on the union, and disciplining workers for participating in the union. Union baristas plan to illustrate their disgust by delivering an oversized six-month "Performance Review" of Starbucks to regional management at an 11am press conference at the Franklin and Nicollet store on Thursday.
Union barista Erik Forman said, "After the guilty verdict in New York City and settlements in the Twin Cities and Grand Rapids, we had hoped that Starbucks would have learned its lesson, but unfortunately, the company has chosen to continue the pattern of illegal union-busting they have established across the US. We will not stand for this, Starbucks must respect our right to organize."