NY Starbucks workers form union - first in Nation

[theivoryqueen]

Yay - file this under the category of hope springing eternal!!! Way to go starbucks NY!

http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=04/05/17/8624777

looks like the workers are 'bout tired of living on pittances while serving piping hot cappucinos.

[Alerter_]

1. kick!

:)

I am only going to unionized StarBucks from now on!

[theivoryqueen]

2. so far it's only the one...

but maybe the others will get on track. I quit going to starbucks completely after a pal who worked there told me what she earned and what the working conditions were like. They charge on average 4 bucks a pop - not a lot is making it to the folks who make it all possible.

[BurtWorm]

7. So they've paid their workers for the day well within the first hour.

How much of what Starbucks makes is pure (so to speak) profit? I'll bet they have one of the highest profit-to-overhead ratios in the market.

[theivoryqueen]

9. I'd guess Starbucks are raking it in

if the lines at my local outlets are reflecting national trends.

[SahaleArm]

14. Starbucks has a 7% net profit margin - pretty low

http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/research/profile.asp?Symbol=SBUX

Intel, for instance, is at 20% net profit margin:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/research/profile.asp?Symbol=INTC

[guitar man]

3. Hell yeah!!

Somebody out ther fightin' the good fight! :bounce:

[bedtimeforbonzo]

4. does this mean

that the tards over on Indymedia will not vandalize this one?

[AP]

5. I saw act of kindness by a Starbucks employee which I'll never forget.

I used to go to a really nice Starbucks in an expensive part of town, and there was often a homeless person in there, and the employees NEVER kicked them out. They never kick anyone out, even if they're not buying anything, and they didn't have a different policy for homeless people.

Anyway, there was a homeless guy in front of me in line one morning. He must have had less than 50 cents in change. The employee took money out of the tip jar to pay for the guys coffee.

I'm sure Starbucks wouldn't have minded if the employee just gave him a free coffee, but that employee didn't want to steal from Starbucks, and didn't want to deny the guy a cup of coffee, so the employees collectively paid the balance out of the tip jar.

Witnessing that act of kindness has stuck with me more than any Starbucks ad I've ever seen.

[calimary]

13. Our local Starbucks seems to do that all the time. Well, not exactly sure

if they take from their tip jar, but we've got a couple of homeless guys in the area. They're kind of "famous," in fact. Everybody in the Village knows 'em. They're around, every day. And every day, I see these guys drinking coffee in Starbucks coffee cups. I know the folks behind the counters take care of 'em, since it's QUITE obvious these guys don't have two nickels to rub together. They're ALWAYS fed. Several little eateries in the Village, and these guys are NEVER turned away. People are kind to them.

Furthermore, our local Starbucks always provides free coffee grounds to the many gardeners here, AND they stashed away a huge garbage-bag-size bag of empty plastic 2-gallon milk jugs for me when I asked for a few. I was doing a kids' craft project, cutting up the milk jugs to make Halloween masks. They couldn't have been nicer, and they were very helpful. Their manager said doing so was part of their mission statement.

They seem to be VERY responsible to, and supportive of, their communities. Ours here in the neighborhood sure is. AND, I heard a Starbucks commercial on Air America before it got yanked off the air here in L.A.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. Today Starbucks! Tomorrow: Walmart!!!

[theivoryqueen]

8. Indeed! That's the hopefullest part.

It would be great to finally achieve a country in which workers who pretty much make everything we count on possible are paid decent wages. At least inside the US... today america, tomorrow the world. Okay - pollyanna rant over!

[bigbillhaywood]

10. That campaign is not even close to being over...

For one thing, they haven't had their certification election yet. They will likely use every dirty trick in the book to convince employees to vote against the union. Even if they win the election, the union still has to get a first contract. From my experience, that is often even more difficult than winning an election-- especially when you're going up against a monster like Starbucks and you only have one shop organized.

I don't see anything on the website yet, but check www.iww.org . Once the campaign is in full swing they will likely have action alerts and ways for you to help. Goooooooo...Wobblies!

[theivoryqueen]

11. true bigbill - but they are farther along than anyone else has gotten

and thanks for the website link. I'll keep my fingers crossed and my ear to the ground.

[bigbillhaywood]

12. kick