Six Months of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union: Management Gets a "Big Review"

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On a freezing but bright Minnesota morning, baristas gathered on the sidewalk in front of the Franklin and Nicollet Starbucks in Minneapolis. Mittens clutched the splintery handles of picket signs. The baristas started to chant, “Starbucks Union, here to stay; these lattes are union made!”

It was January 8th, 2009. Almost six months prior, in the first public action of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union in Minnesota, baristas at the Mall of America Starbucks had stopped work to protest the closure of 600 stores. A week earlier, one of the workers had been fired for discussing unionization with his peers. Despite the firing, the idea stuck, with baristas at the Franklin and Nicollet Starbucks soon joining their fellow workers at the Mall of America as public union members.

Almost six months later, the growth of the union was evident as workers from several Minneapolis locations came together to give Starbucks a “Big Review.” Standing almost six feet tall, the “Review” was indeed “Big.” Aside from the tongue-in-cheek wordplay, the action had special meaning for Starbucks workers. Normally, baristas wait for their six-month reviews nervously. If you have been sufficiently submissive, you may get a 30-cent raise. Most people aren’t so lucky, getting 20 cents or less. Now things are different. As a union, workers have the opportunity to talk back. Over the last two weeks, the Twin Cities Starbucks Workers Union gathered input from baristas locally and across the US through an online survey, scoring the company on a scale of 1-3 (the same as Starbucks own review system).

The results were not flattering for the bosses. Starbucks scored a dismal 0.6, with baristas alleging illegal misconduct in many categories, such as equal opportunity hiring, treating coffee farmers with respect, paying decent wages, providing consistent scheduling, and respecting labor law.

Indeed, two days earlier, the IWW Starbucks Workers Union filed 11 charges encompassing 25 violations of federal labor law with the National Labor Relations Board. Union baristas alleged a pattern of abuses, ranging from interrogation of workers for suspected union sympathies, to instructing supervisors to spy on the union, and disciplining workers for participating in the union. The charges are similar to allegations brought against Starbucks by IWW baristas in New York City, where a federal ruling against Starbucks concluded a two-year legal battle between the coffee giant and union baristas.

Since the legal process takes time, Twin Cities baristas decided to take their message directly to management. After picketing for a few minutes, the workers began taking turns reading off a litany of grievances. “Poverty wages.” “Inconsistent scheduling.” “Racist hiring practices.” “Union-busting.” “Unfair disciplinary procedures.” “Inconsistent scheduling.” Workers told personal stories of sexual harassment by managers, bounced rent checks, and the thousand other invisible miseries endured by today’s working class.

Heard on their own, the stories would be nothing more or less than disempowering tragedies. But taken together, it was all fuel for the fire. Even in the cold Minnesota morning, hearts began to warm with solidarity and a desire for justice. Feeling confident, we entered the Franklin and Nicollet Starbucks to give a (smaller) copy of the Review to two District Managers who had been sipping lattes and watching us from the warm lobby. They hid in the back room, refusing to meet with us, so we delivered the six-foot document to the area corporate headquarters. No one answered when we knocked, so we slid the Review under the door for management to find later.

Six months ago, the idea of a union for Starbucks workers, or of a “Review” for management would have seemed preposterous. Communication was one-way. Now we have found our voice, and we’re only getting louder

Join us at the Nomad World Pub at 9pm on Saturday January 24th to celebrate six months of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union in the Twin Cities. In collaboration with anti-civ Records, we present Bouncer Fighter, the Knotwells, Clawthroat, Military Special, Ogre Smash Death Boom, and shugE. $5 donation requested, no one turned away for lack of funds.

visit our blog: http://tcsbuxunion.com