The blog comments at this are a pretty diverse reaction seems like the Wobs are making waves by going after Starbucks. see also the Ethiopian coffee growers and Baristas meet up on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xTk_LLjxUk
Starbucks stands accused by the National Labor Relations Board of breaking the law by retaliating against workers supportive of unionization at four of its coffee shops in Manhattan.
Starbucks stands accused by the National Labor Relations Board of breaking the law by retaliating against workers supportive of unionization at four of its coffee shops in Manhattan. Among the more unusual aspects of the complaint [Word document] is an accusation that Starbucks unfairly discriminated by selectively enforcing these two dress-code rules against pro-union employees:
Shirts/Blouses: Plain black or white shirts with collars, polo style, turtlenecks or mock turtlenecks should be worn. No other colors, designs, logos (with the exception of a small manufacturer’s logo), writings or combination of white or black are allowed. The shirt may be short- or long-sleeved, but not sleeveless. If an undershirt is worn, such as a turtleneck, it must be the same color as the outer shirt. The shirt must be clean, pressed and tucked in at all times.
. Jewelry/Body Piercings Earrings must be small or moderately seized. [sic] No more than two earrings per ear may be worn. No other pierced jewelry or ornaments are allowed, including nose rings or tongue studs. Any other jewelry must be kept simple and may not be a distraction.
In his report today, Steven Greenhouse of The Times said the four shops, where 11 supervisors were accused of violating federal labor law, are at 10 Union Square East, 116 East 57th Street, 200 Madison Avenue and 145 Second Avenue.
And since we know there are Starbucks obsessives out there, here are the full statements of the two dueling parties.
Valerie O’Neil, a spokeswoman for the Seattle-based coffee chain, said:
Starbucks is committed to providing a great place for our partners (employees) to work and to conduct ourselves in a way that’s true to our Mission Statement and Guiding Principles. As a testament to our pro-partner environment, earlier this year we were recognized as one of “The 100 Best Companies to Work For” by Fortune magazine for the ninth time. Additionally, our 2006 Partner View Survey, completed by more than 100,000 partners worldwide, showed 86 percent satisfaction with Starbucks work environment.
But Daniel Gross, a former Starbucks worker and an organizer with the Industrial Workers of the World, which seeks to unionize Starbucks employees, said the conduct was part of a pattern:
This Labor Board complaint reveals that Starbucks is a corporation with a profound disrespect for workers’ rights. Starbucks left the rule of law behind when the union campaign started in 2004 and according to this complaint has yet to return. It’s remarkable that our union is growing stronger everyday despite an almost three-year campaign of illegal dirty tricks to defeat us.
Will this affect anyone’s decision whether to buy an espresso macchiato or mocha frappuccino?
snip comment 182. April 4th, 2007 10:36 pm
“The thing I don’t get is
are these IWW guys actually a union? Do they actually represent anyone anywhere?”
Ok, in response to Slothbear and other earlier posters, a note about the IWW.
The IWW is a “real” union. It has existed for the last 102 years, but for the last 60 years, the union has been mainly dormant. Over the last 5 years, it has experienced a resurgence.
Yes the IWW has won many collective bargaining agreements across the country, although the union does not count collective bargaining agreements as the only measure of success.
The difference between the IWW and other union is that the IWW is based on rank-and-file principles. Basically, that workers themselves lead the union, rather than career officials. The IWW also maintains a broader, long-term vision of economic democracy, (i.e. cooperatively run workplaces).
— Posted by NYCUnionBarista
meanwhile working on "groovy film' I Love Huckabees was not going well for Lily Tomlin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSBbJ-x4t3Q
empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/a-triple-piercing-with-that...
Wage-slave's Escape http://happystiletto.blogspot.com/
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