A-Infos (en) US, Pittsburgh Workers Escalate Protest Against Starbucks’ Union-Busting

PITTSBURGH, PA—A vocal group of workers and supporters of the Starbucks Union of 
the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) again protested in Pittsburgh against 
Starbucks Coffee Co.’s anti-union activity. This time the Union raised its 
picket line on December 2 in Bloomfield, a working class neighborhood known for 
its strong union heritage and as a close-knit community of local independent 
retailers. The IWW is demanding an end to the mistreatment and firings of 
workers who engage in union organizing at the world’s largest and most 
profitable retail coffee chain. Despite planting numerous stores in several 
Pittsburgh neighborhoods, Starbucks is a corporate outsider based in Seattle, 
Washington and joins the ranks of too many low-wage employers throughout the city.

For nearly two hours on a sunny but frigid Saturday afternoon, workers carried 
picket signs, banners, and the ever-present red IWW flag as they chanted in 
front of the Bloomfield Starbucks on Liberty Ave. However, before the picket 
started the IWW serenaded fellow workers and customers inside the store with a 
resounding rendition of “Solidarity Forever,” the classic American labor anthem 
written by the Wobblies in 1915. But on this day the union sang a new verse 
written for coffee industry workers:

It is we who pick the coffee, ship it here and roast it brown.
Then we brew it and we froth it up for folks to drink it down.
Instead of bloating profits, lift baristas in our town.
For the Union makes us strong.

As expected, Starbucks again brought in high-level managers on a weekend to 
salvage the corporation’s public relations inspired “warm and feel-good” image. 
Mangers, not regular employees, handed out free coffee samples to passers-by on 
the street, but this only gave picketers a chance to talk to customers as they 
stopped to see what was going on. It was also a chance for the Union to sign up 
“Friend of Labor” supporters who pledge support for the Union and to “strike” 
against Starbucks as consumers. One concerned customer not only promised to 
boycott Starbucks until it stops union-busting, but she also said, “My niece was 
considering applying at Starbucks, but I’m going to tell her about how they 
treat their employees. I don’t want her to put up with Starbucks’ disgusting 
behavior. No way!”

By all accounts, the IWW was very successful in seizing the opportunity to 
inform the Bloomfield community about Starbucks’ anti-worker behavior. Dozens of 
IWW flyers were distributed and many motorists on Liberty Ave. honked and gave 
thumbs-up for their support of the Starbucks Union. As is typical of IWW events, 
the protest was designed to be lively, spirited, and free from violence. 
However, the Union noted that an unidentified and uninvited man briefly showed 
up with a derogatory sign stating, “God hates Starbucks and [homosexuals].” 
Wobblies quickly confronted the man and voiced outrage at his message. When 
asked whom he worked for, he said “Starbucks.” “We don’t know who this person 
is,” said IWW organizer Kevin Farkas, “But the IWW does not tolerate 
discrimination of any kind. I asked the Starbucks managers who were there to 
join the IWW in publicly condemning such expressions of hate and repression.”

Another IWW protester went on to say that as the demonstration gathered energy 
there was a subtle but very real repressive vibe about the day. “An unidentified 
man was filming us from across the street,” she said. “Unfortunately, corporate 
surveillance is all too common at these protests. It’s a form of intimidation 
used to dissuade workers against going public in support of the union. But we’d 
like to believe that Starbucks didn’t have anything to do with planting that 
hateful man on our picket line. For whatever reason he was there, it seemed that 
he was only interested in a quick photo-op and then he was gone.”

IWW member Lisa Stolarski stated that workers will keep its focus on why the 
Union is protesting Starbucks—to stop anti-union behavior and reinstate the six 
pro-union Starbucks workers fired for exercising their legal right to organize. 
"The corporate world is watching Starbucks right now,” said Stolarski. “If 
Starbucks gets away with illegally firing workers for organizing activity, then 
this behavior sets a precedent for chain corporations worldwide. It is essential 
that every worker and every unionist stand up for the Starbucks Six, because in 
defending the baristas' right to organize we defend the foundation of unionism."

The National Labor Relations Board is investigating these firings and is not 
expected to have a ruling until sometime next year. However, in March 2006 the 
IWW charged Starbucks with unfair labor practices and the NLRB reached a 
settlement with Starbucks directing the company to change its policies toward 
union organizing. The March 2006 NLRB settlement reinstated two workers active 
with the union movement and forced Starbucks to pay roughly $2,000 in back pay 
to three employees and change discriminatory policies, including the workers’ 
right to wear union buttons (which Starbucks had denied them) and to distribute 
union materials in the workplace. Starbucks also promised not to provide 
employees with benefits, including after-hours store cleaning services, free 
pizza, free gym passes, and free baseball tickets, in order to encourage 
employees to withdraw support for the union.

The Pittsburgh Starbucks Union, along with its growing ranks of supporters, has 
future protests planned against Starbucks. The next local day of action will be 
Saturday, December 16, 2006.

To learn more about the Starbucks Union and how you can join the IWW or become a 
Friend of Labor supporter, email PghStarbucksUnion@yahoo.com and visit 
www.StarbucksUnion.org
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* An antiauthoritarian anticapitalist syndicate
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