A-Infos (en) US, Pittsburgh IWW* Strikes again at Starbucks’ Anti-Union Practices

We workers can continue to grovel for these low-wage jobs, or we can 
just wring our hands in despair, or we can stand up and demand better 
treatment from these moneymaking corporations. We all know what 
Starbucks wants its so-called “partners” to do. It’s no mystery why 
Starbucks is firing workers for organizing, trying to get them to think 
that a union is unnecessary, and keeping a close eye on those of us who 
want an independent voice at work.” -- IWW Starbucks Union member
PITTSBURGH, PA— For more than an hour on Saturday afternoon, the 
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) again protested in front of a 
local Starbucks, this time on the city’s Southside. For the third time 
in recent weeks members of the IWW Starbucks Union and allied Friends of 
Labor protested against what they say is Starbucks’ continued anti-union 
behavior, low wages and insufficient working conditions. December 16th 
marked what Starbucks must now understand to be a well coordinated and 
growing international movement by the IWW to express its grievances 
against the world’s largest retail coffee company.

About twenty protesters—some just back from supporting the United Steel 
Workers’ local protest against Goodyear—positioned themselves along a 
narrow sidewalk in front of Starbucks on E. Carson St. as local 
residents, weekend workers, and business owners looked on. Famed local 
musician and IWW member Anne Feeney was on hand with her well-worn 
guitar to inspire the group into singing several songs familiar on 
picket lines, such as the classic Labor anthem, “Solidarity Forever” (a 
union favorite written by the IWW in 1915). The union chanted, waived 
its familiar “An Injury to One is an Injury to All” signs, and 
encouraged passing motorists to honk in support of the union. Organizers 
also talked with people while handing out flyers and humorous “Three 
Dollar StarveBucks”—a fake $3 bill with the face of Starbucks CEO Jim 
Donald on it to illustrate what the union views as enormous 
profit-making at the expense of workers. In June 2006, the Seattle Times 
reported that Mr. Donald received an 81% raise in ‘05, bringing his pay 
to about $13 million. If Mr. Donald were a barista, he’d make about 
$12,500 an hour.

In what seems to be standard Starbucks procedure, a high-level manager 
was sent to greet and appease the crowd with trays of coffee and cake. 
Starbucks offers freebies as a way of “making nice” to the public and 
protesters. But this time the IWW, historically known for its creative 
tactics, was ready for the public-relations stunt. After activists 
kindly accepted the generous coffee and cake samples from Starbucks 
trays, they then placed them onto the IWW’s own tray lined with a 
message that read, “Starbucks Union-Busts.” As the Starbucks manager 
confusedly looked on, a union activist wearing a green Starbucks apron 
then began to greet passersby with Starbucks’ own goodies. “We had a lot 
of great conversations about the union as people stopped for a free 
Starbucks treat,” said the union barista. “There was no way anybody 
could miss our point when they reached for a treat. Starbucks really 
helped us create some new friends of labor.” It wasn’t long before 
Starbucks realized that it was subsidizing the work of the protesters 
and withdrew its free samples from the public.

After the protest IWW member Tom Shearer III said, “We had a lot of 
support today and that shows us that people are starting to get it. As 
more of us find ourselves stuck in this new high-profit low-wage economy 
we’re realizing that no amount of feel-good corporate spin is going to 
change our economic needs.” Shearer went on to say that most people 
think that a living wage in Pittsburgh should be around $12 an 
hour—something Starbucks could pay its workers and still be very 
profitable. Shearer agreed with his union that most workers supporting 
families just can’t make it on part-time wages between $7 and $9 an hour.

Randy Trapanick, Starbucks district manager on hand for the 
demonstration, stated that the company invests a lot of its profits into 
progressive projects like environmental causes. He also said that if 
Starbucks were to raise the wages for all of its employees it would be 
at the expense of a lot of other good things Starbucks does. IWW 
organizer Kevin Farkas contended, “Paying workers a living wage is also 
a good cause. The last time I checked we were all buying our gas at the 
same stations, food shopping at the same markets, paying the same 
utility rates, getting car insurance from the same places, paying the 
same cable bills. Whether you are a 19 year old college student or a 39 
year old single mom, we all need more than what Starbucks chooses to 
provide.” Another protester who identified herself only as an IWW Friend 
of Labor said, “It’s sad that a company like Starbucks can call itself 
progressive while doing this to its own employees. A lot of my friends 
work at Starbucks and they’re really cool people, but they’re just 
getting by. Shame on Starbucks.”

The IWW Starbucks Union is vowing to keep the public spotlight on 
Starbucks until it stops union-busting and improves its wages and other 
working conditions. Currently, the National Labor Relations Board is 
investigating the firings of the five NYC baristas and is not expected 
to have a ruling until sometime next year. However, the union is quick 
to point out that in March 2006 Starbucks was charged with unfair labor 
practices and the NLRB directed the company to change its policies 
toward union organizing. The March 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.

Despite any pressure put on Starbucks from the Labor Board, the IWW 
contends that the coffee giant will try everything to keep the union 
from having a voice at work. “The boss doesn’t want a union here and 
says so,” Shearer said, “Not on Carson St., not in Pittsburgh, and 
certainly not in New York City where the five baristas were sacked for 
legal organizing. But the IWW Starbucks Union isn’t here to listen to 
the boss.”

The Pittsburgh Starbucks Union, along with its Friends of Labor 
supporters, has planned future protests. To learn more about the 
Starbucks Union, email PghStarbucksUnion@yahoo.com and visit 
www.StarbucksUnion.org.
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* An antiauthoritarian anticapitalist initiative
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