IWW - Baristas United, the Coffee Shop Workers Uni

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Baristas United is currently running an organising drive at all local coffee shops. So whether you work for Caffe Nero, Starbucks, Costa Coffee, or any other coffee shop, get in touch with us to find out how to improve your job.

So don't be a mug, get organised with Baristas United - IWW

Baristas United Gets The Goods!
From the latest IWW Baristas United Bulletin Spring 2007
A Baristas United member in Leicestershire, recently found himself in a spot of trouble while working for Caffe Nero. So, we decided to have a chat with him.
So what was the problem?
I had been working for Caffe Nero for just under a year when we had a large sum of money stolen from our office safe just after Christmas 2006. There were three members of staff who had access to the safe that day, but during the subsequent investigation, I was the only member of staff who was sacked for the offence, and was also witheld pay outstanding to me. I considered this grossly unfair owing to any lack of evidence to support any theft by myself, and that the other members of staff who had the same access as me had lesser punishments. It was then that I sought the help and advice of the IWW.
How did the IWW's Baristas United help?
I initially met two members of the IWW (Leicester Branch) to discuss what had happened. They cast a professional eye over the paperwork and ran through the facts of the case. Even at this initial stage, I could see that IWW would be a great help to me, as they could determine factors that I had not even considered to be important. At my appeal hearing, at Caffe Nero head office in London, I was represented by an IWW rep, who made my case clear to those conducting the appeal - asking questions of Caffe Nero policy, backing up my case with facts that I was not aware of (such as one Caffe Nero letter not complying with certain regulations) and helping me to decipher questions asked during the appeal process. The end result was that I won the appeal case, with the termination wiped from my record, monies owed to me returned and even the offer of my old job back! I have no doubt that without the help of the IWW, I would not have been in such a strong position when it came to my appeal hearing, and feel that I may ultimately have lost my appeal.
What would you say to other baristas who haven't yet joined the union?
As a barista particularly, I think it is important to be a member of a union, with special reference to the IWW who now specialise in coffee shop employees with Baristas United. As with myself, so many of us are not aware of rights that we have in the workplace, and many employers take advantage of this fact. Organisations such as Baristas United allow members to be fully conversant in their workplace rights and will fight to improve conditions for all coffee shop workers. Furthermore, if things go wrong, as they did with me, it is so important to have some one fighting your corner who is more knowledgeable about employment matters, and who can take on these large organisations.
Ultimately, I would suggest that anyone who is not already a member, joins up, because you never know when you may need their help.
If you'd like to receive a copy of the free Baristas United Bulletin, let us know and we'll pop one in the post.

Starbucks Workers in the US get a pay rise thanks to the IWW!

October 12, 2006
Amid Union Pressure and Expansion, Starbucks Loosens
Purse Strings.
Wage Increase Welcome But Flawed

New York, NY- After a summer spent highlighting the poverty wage at the world's largest coffee chain and expanding into the Chicago market, the IWW Starbucks Workers Union has won a wage increase from the company. The raise will benefit Starbucks employees in New York City, Chicago, and around the country.

In Chicago, starting pay for baristas has increased from $7.50 per hour to $7.80. After six months, Chicago baristas will make $8.58 per hour if they receive a favorable performance review. In New York City, baristas will make $9.63 per hour after six months on the job and a favorable performance review. Senior baristas will receive only a ten-cent raise to discourage long-term employment at Starbucks...

Full release: www.starbucksunion.org/node/1082
Daniel Gross
Organizer
Retail Workers Union IWW IU/660
www.StarbucksUnion.org

To reach the supplies, workers were forced to balance themselves on the toilet bowl and stand on tiptoes to maneuver the key into the lock and remove the needed bathroom products. Workers did a similar balancing act standing on cafe tables to clean the ceiling and change light bulbs.

In addition to the clear health risks stemming from musculo-skeletal strain and the possibility of serious falls, baristas were downright annoyed and outraged that Starbucks, a 23 billion dollar company and the world's largest coffee chain, refused to purchase a simple stepladder that workers needed. Annoyed but not surprised. After years of insult and injury on safety and many others issues, a group of workers at Logan Square decided to join the IWW Starbucks Workers Union.

The IWW Brings Solidarity Unionism to Starbucks
The Chicago baristas were struck by gains Wobbly baristas had made in New York City since Starbucks had for years remained impervious to organisation by the traditional trade unions. The Industrial Workers of the World was using the solidarity unionism model to make both systemic changes at the company and remedy individual grievances with management. Through direct pressure on Starbucks, the union had won three wage increases, more secure hours, and had successfully addressed a diverse array of issues from religious discrimination to rat infestation.

Solidarity unionism is a term coined by the great labor activist and author, Staughton Lynd, to describe a rank and file organisation of workers who fight directly to win demands without resorting to government certification or union bureaucracy. One of the many benefits of the solidarity union approach is its scalability. A solidarity union is simply a group of workers uniting with each other and other workers in the community and (with the internet) around the world, to apply direct pressure around issues of concern at work. Therefore, with some hard work and a willingness to take a stand, baristas anywhere could join the IWW Starbucks Workers Union to fight collectively for a better life on the job and an independent voice in society.

Chicago Baristas Go Union
The night of Tuesday, April 29, 2006, baristas at the Logan Square Starbucks in Chicago demonstrated the scalability of solidarity unionism by becoming the first workers outside of New York City to declare their membership in the IWW Starbucks Workers Union.

Workers chose a store meeting for the action. In addition to the declaration of union membership, the Wobbly baristas demanded a living wage; secure work hours; reinstatement of the baristas in NYC illegally fired for union activity; respect for the right to organise; and health and safety improvements including the stepladder. IWW baristas now had a union presence at seven Starbucks stores.

Through surveillance on workers, Starbucks management was prepared for the surprise action. Senior managers proceeded to disparage unions in general and the IWW in particular. One manager even went so far as to say the union didn't exist as if the red IWW membership cards in baristas' pockets were figments of their imagination. The bosses also handed out the preamble to the IWW constitution thinking it would scare off workers. Members were actually pleased that Starbucks handed out the document. The preamble is a text that Wobblies are proud of; it outlines a humane society where workers live in harmony with the Earth and are free from oppression. A society unlike the one Starbucks inhabits where its Chairman Howard Schultz is worth close to a billion dollars and Chicago baristas start at $7.50 per hour with no guaranteed number of work hours each week.

"It was called Direct Action, and it comes to us highly recommended."
Utah Phillips, IWW Folk Singer

Wobblies are known for good humor in the struggle for industrial freedom. But one thing the IWW doesn't joke around about is health and safety. You only get one body and one mind in this life and the boss sure isn't going to take care of you. After years of needless strain and balancing acts because the coffee giant was too cheap to buy a simple stepladder, baristas found themselves in a new workplace dynamic. Instead of individuals requesting a ladder and being denied again and again, the workers could fight union.

Direct Action entails doing what it takes to make things right. For example, faced with employer opposition to the eight-hour day, Wobbly timber workers began blowing a whistle after eight-hours of work and going home. Essentially, they went on strike each day after eight hours on the job and the strike lasted until work started the next day. IWW timber workers won the eight-hour day in this manner and not through the ballot box or a union official. Direct Action is about more than winning demands though. It's about how the demand is won, that is, through workers' own initiative and self-organisation. As Staughton Lynd has pointed out, such activity is the process through which workers take control of their own destinies and build towards a General Strike, a decisive historical moment where workers dramatically alter society by withholding their labor.

The IWW baristas picked Labor Day in the United States (the authentic workers' holiday is May 1st), to launch their Direct Action. The plan was brilliant. First, the union bought a ladder. Next, workers placed a sticker on both sides of the ladder reading, "Brought to you by IWW Starbucks Workers Union for a safer, healthier workplace." The workers knew that when they brought the ladder to work, Starbucks could respond in one of three ways.

First, the company could allow the ladder to stay in the store and workers would have the tool they needed to work safer. The Wobbly baristas knew that the company wouldn't choose this first option. Starbucks is waging a fierce and unlawful anti-union campaign that resulted in a massive complaint from the National Labor Relations Board. The last thing Starbucks would want was a useful tool that workers needed with the IWW sticker on it. Allowing such a ladder to remain in the store would conflict with Starbucks' message that unions are antiquated and not necessary in Starbucks "pro-partner" environment.

Second, the company could remove the ladder to rid the store of a useful gift from the IWW and reinstate the no-ladder status quo. This too would not be a good option for the company. Jettisoning a useful tool that workers needed to stay safe would make the company look bad to workers and to the public. Such a maneuver would conflict with Starbucks' message that it's a benevolent employer (notwithstanding the poverty wage and lack of full-time status), while the IWW is a radical organisation outside of the mainstream.

Third, the company could remove the IWW ladder and purchase a comparable ladder for the store. While this option wouldn't be perfect for Starbucks because they'd have to spend money and concede a union victory, workers predicted this was the way management would go. After years of being turned down for a simple tool that makes everyday life at work a whole lot easier, the baristas would have their ladder. In addition, the company would foot the bill for the ladder, as it should under the law. The union would then return its ladder to recoup the cost.

Does Direct Action Get the Goods?
September 4th came around and everything was set to go. Two Wobbly baristas from the Logan Square Starbucks including one of the authors, Joe Tessone, were selected to bring the ladder into the store. The contrast of the reactions to their entry into the store with the ladder was striking. Management, including a senior human resources official, looked absolutely shocked and mortified. On the other hand, workers were beaming with smiles cheek-to-cheek. The absolute power of their employer, which was first challenged less than a week ago, had been further eroded and they had set in motion a plan to get the ladder they needed! Afterwards, Joe's partner in the action, Monica Karpuk, remarked that this was the most exciting thing she had ever done.

Management sprang into action running around visibly shaken. Then they moved outside the store to speak in private. Returning to the store still distraught, management informed workers that Starbucks could not accept the union's ladder but that the company would purchase its own ladder. One hour later, after years of individual requests and less than one week as union members, the Logan Square baristas had the ladder they needed for a safer healthier workplace.