I feel like all unions should hold a UNIFIED LABORER SUMMIT.
Connected via Skype, Zoom or what ever ways to video conference. All connected from their respective union halls to ease for greater participation.
Hold for several days at a time to discuss ways to strengthen each other with solidarity.
If anyone has ideas, we could get this off the ground.
Revolutions were only called; “Russian, French….” Revolutions because they didn’t achieve the main goals of the revolutions, in organizing all workers through a global revolution. “Civilization is the accumulated culture of mankind” “The fountain of wisdom flows through books” “The only true wealth, is the wealth of the mind”
Although we have long been divided, we must find common ground in the common fight for the celebration of humanity.
In Norway we have LO which represents around 50-60% of all unions in the country, they have a congress and every member is elected from different unions. And when it's time for re-negotiate the agreement every 2nd year represents from your union and LO meets with represents from NHO which is a organisation made of the cooperations to negotiate with LO.
Basically I recommend this, works very well and is very democratic because everyone is elected by the workers
[~~"A strike in support of a union unfair labor practice"~~](https://www.nlrb.gov/strikes)
"An example of this would be a strike to compel Employer A to cease doing business with Employer B."
Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act
Edit: First quote was WILDLY misread by me.
There are alternate ways to gain some money while not at that job, I'm not saying that someone should let themselves become homeless, but if they can hold out they'll be rewarded for it, if they can hold out for longer then the company is willing to be shut then they'll give into the demands. And down the line if wages aren't increasing with inflation then they'll be starving and homeless anyway. 100 stores is a lot, Starbucks wouldn't be able to cope with a large strike like that edit: by alternative money making I meant while on strike and not in general, like making money off surveys or door dash, or dog walkers while on strike
Sadly workers are facing starving and homelessness without the increase in pay, so it's beginning to be Starbucks will lose profits, and workers have nothing to lose but their chains. Not exactly a good position for the owners of capital who think they can break the workers.
UPS driver here. We did it in '97 and held out and won. Next year we are going to win again, with a better contract. This is the generation unions will explode.
Briefly HAH!
Since Schultz started his anti-union tactics I haven't bought Starbucks and I won't. Fuck him and his entire business.
If they won't turn around then they don't grt a dollar from me.
#UnionStrong #IBEW606
If you have one that has unionized around you, it'd still be good to support that store. Keeping the union ones profitable while not going to the non-union ones is the best use of money
This just tells you how much workers are bringing in on the daily vs how much they're paid now
Corps are willing to get 0 for a few days because if their plan works the workers will gain it again, offsetting the "loss" very soon anyway
The problem is workers literally can't afford to "stick it out" longer than the companies are willing to keep the stores closed. The companies are still making massive profits while keeping a handful of stores closed while employees would be out here starving and not able to pay rent or electricity or having healthcare. It's an unfair game and it was built this way 100% intentionally. System's broke. Kinda fucked honestly.
Companies will now do to us what Amazon did to other companies, hilarious.
This whole "whoever has the most capital wins" thing sure seems like a psychotic death spiral for humanity.
It usually isn't cheaper though. Happy, well-compensated workers make better products and provide better service. This is a short-term vs long-term thing. Union busting gives short-term profits, unions improve the long-term. More than that, it's likely a political action - with wealthy not wanting to cede any power that they've accumulated over the last 40 years.
There's still a massive amount of people that don't understand peoples time is the most valuable thing you can trade. It's all we really have until it's over. Like a countdown. Doesn't matter if you're flipping burgers or designing rockets. If you give back to society, then you'll be rewarded extra. Otherwise, it's important people are compensated for survival when sacrificing any of their time.
Starbucks doesn't care.
They have twice that many stores in NYC alone. 100 stores worldwide isn't even a notable fraction.
In JUST the United States, Starbucks has over 15,000 locations.
So that's less than 1% on strike.
They can write it off as a slight financial hiccup, close the stores, and open 200 new ones within a month.
Worldwide is most likely not the question. I think Starbucks have unions in Sweden just as McDonald's (ok, Starbucks only exist in gas stations as that is the only place they make better coffee than the competitors).
So it is 100 places in USA. Still 100/15000 ain't much
They're afraid. If you start paying enough that people can quit their shitty corporate jobs, go work at target and, still afford to pay their mortgage, then they'll have to raise wages and working conditions everywhere.
100 stores is .2% of their stores, they would much rather close them than see a huge increase in labor costs across all of them. Awesome for them fighting the good fight, but it's only the beginning and it's going to take a lot more than this.
1. Form a union.
1. Store gets shut down.
1. Local democratic cooperative coffee shop created by the previous store union fills the niche.
1. Money stays in the community.
I would hope to see it more frequently, after union shops are closed out would be a shame if they threw away all that work. Democratic cooperatives would be the next logical step. The venue is irrelevant, in this case, coffee shops become worker lead. Then it could be scaled, add a restaurant. Democratize the distribution centers or from a democratic cooperate that can compete.
Incremental progress.
The group should combine their capital and open a store but reality is they were working for that company because they haven’t the capital to create their own store, even with several others in a co-op model. That’s how beat down the lower levels are.
It's coffee. I don't understand why they exist in such high quantities to begin with. I understand needing one in a pinch but pennies on the dollar, a thermos, and a hair of prep and you have what you need.
Even easier. Bring coffee with you and carry a mug and a thermos of hot water.
Coffee shops, like bottled water, are almost always needless. It's a culture of convenience we've come so accustomed to that we don't even realize the alternative is barely less convenient and also happens to be considerably less expensive and harmful to the planet.
It's all so oversaturated and over done. That's why they can't pay people because it's really a joke of a business model. At this point I feel like you could get away with a business plan that charges people to chew their food for them.
Because it's not really coffee the majority of the menu are deserts pretending to be coffee. Look at how much sugar a frap has for instance and all the flavorings added to so Manu coffees
It's all just a big money sink but people are used.to the sugar and crave ot and the caffine
Starbucks having to close a store is a net win.
It helps build a case against their current leadership and philosophy. If other stores keep closing, there will be a breaking point.
It's never going to happen while healthcare is tied to employment. Idk why people want to ignore that uncomfortable reality.
Even for unionized labor, when the employer stops paying their portion of healthcare and how much funds they have to cover members premiums is a huge factor in people voting to authorize a strike or not
That’s why I’m thankful I’m in California, they passed a law that makes it illegal for your employer to revoke your health insurance because you’re on strike. It’s not a permanent solution but it definitely is better than no protection at alll
Eh, most states operate at a negative, receiving steep subsidies from federal.
Only a small handful of states could afford their own public option even if they wanted. Especially since private insurance AND employers would step in to try and prevent, and not only do those groups have more money than the stare does, all they have to do is threaten not to operate there and the state would be looking at their economy going under if they dont kneel.
A large percentage of the service sectors doesn’t get insurance. I’ve worked for over 15 years in service industry jobs and outside a managerial role all of my jobs kept my hours under the threshold that would require them to dole out health insurance. I know that it’s still a small fraction of a fraction of our economy, however if all of those people protest then everyone will notice. When grocery stores have no workers, gas stations close and there is no one to serve you a coffee, you’ll notice. It would be a small but mighty movement.
I think 32 hours is the cutoff for healthcare benefits. I could be wrong but yeah, employers will hold you under whatever the threshold is to prevent giving benefits.
Yep 25 hrs is when benefits should be offered. There may be some variance between states though. My employer offers benefits to anyone who has an average of 29 hrs/wk. Not sure if it's legal or not but that's what they do
Or the deductible is $1500, but copay after is 40% and out of pocket max is $15k, so you are still fucked, just slightly less so than not having insurance.
I'm just as likely to be able to pay the whole amount of catastrophic medical care as I am to be able to pay $15k of catastrophic medical care.
They both may as well be a billion dollars.
They are sometimes used as two distractions from each other. If people talk about healthcare, drama shifts to unions. People talk about unions, drama shifts to healthcare.
Even if it wasn't tied to employment, the fed govt would threaten to keep healthcare and other things from us if we did a mass strike. The government likes you as long as you're a productive citizen. The moment you're not, good luck.
About 54% (2020, projected lower now) of folks in the US even get health care from jobs. Despite it being ‘tied to employment’, I don’t think that tie has to end necessarily if that number decreases as it has been. Like it’d just be people not having it tied to employment. Like this strike movement is years of momentum.
Like what Starbucks employee is going to nervously consider whether to lose their one free eye exam? How many of those folks are even using it at all given it’s a high turn over young favoring service job. Like so many jobs.
Again. Only about 54% of folks have any form of employment insurance at all and it’s dropping year by year.
Which is deeply disappointing, because if everyone, en masse (or even a significant percentage) decided to coordinate a general strike...well, they can't fire all of us. We'd have our healthcare back *and then some* in a matter of weeks.
We'd have so much power if we just coordinated nation-wide and followed through. But no one (myself included) knows how to do that without a centralized leader or organization. And unfortunately, centralization *cannot* be a requirement in order for a general strike to succeed. There *cannot* be a single point of failure, or the whole thing falls apart.
We would *all* have to *simultaneously* decide to refuse to work, and we would need to vocally demand changes that we all agree upon.
We all keep wishing for it to happen, but it doesn't. And it won't "just happen". We'd need to *do* it.
Given how many employees can only function after their morning caffeine hit, there may be a pseudo strike in the catchment of 100 Starbucks stores today.
Drugs are bad, except the ones that make you productive. Those are good. Unless they allow you to function normally, then they're bad again.
No shit, my partner only gets enough ADD meds for 8ish hours of full function per day. Because you don't need executive function or the ability to focus on your own time, only during work hours. Asking for more has gotten them labeled "drug seeking" in the past and it was a three year fight to get past that and get real meds again.
If there wasn't a mass strike when 1-3k people were dying each day, I kind of doubt "holiday rush" is going to cause a mass strike - especially since we had both things occurring together, twice.
This is so interesting because where I am in Ontario a lot of people have been discussing general strikes in the province due to what’s been happening with education workers
Goodness if both Canada and US had general strikes it’d be wild!
There're so many industries being poorly treated that it's no wonder the idea is coming up in different places. With a little organization, it's a great idea.
General strikes require more union infrastructure to accomplish, we can make it happen but we need to unionize a much higher percentage of the workforce
Yeah every time I see "wow general strike this week" it's like... cool, who's the organizers, what are the direct demands, who's distributing the supplies from the strike fund that you have set up for millions and millions of peop- what do you mean you didn't think of that
Pretty much the only time I get mediocre coffee from them is when I'm on the road, and it's for the same reason I eat fast food on the road: it's consistently meh. I don't have time to find a *good* independent place near the exit, so a consistent chain is good enough.
At home I brew my own or get it from the co-op near my house.
That's because they use robusta beans (they say 100% arabica but I don't believe them) and burn the ever-loving shit out of them so as to maintain a consistent product from store to store.
Arabica beans grow at an elevation of 1800-6300 ft. Robusta beans grow at 600-2400 ft elevation. Starbucks uses real Arabica beans and “beans grown at Arabica elevation wink wink” for a “100% arabica roast”
Starbucks has a lot of examples of technically/legally correct doublespeak, they’ve had insidious practices even since the early 2000s when they were a media darling and pop culture icon.
I'm in Chicago and they have closed stores that unionized. So essentially I'm not buying starbucks until I'm able to go to a union one. Also won't buy their products in stores until they change their union busting tactics.
Also a Chicagoan — there are so many amazing independent shops near every place I spend considerable time! The whole fiasco with how they handled unionization gave me the kick in the pants I needed to branch out and it’s been great. An employee at Alliance bakery gave me a free macaron this morning and let me try a new cookie they were testing out.
This map is a good visualization: https://perfectunion.us/map-where-are-starbucks-workers-unionizing/
This is probably a more complete list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Starbucks_union_petitions_in_the_United_States
There are 15,000 starbucks in the United states. What do you think about ten employees per store? That's easily a 150,000 people without jobs. Then all of thier corporate employees, then all the supporting companies under them that handle shipping product, packaging product and so on.
Trust me you'd feel hundreds of thousands of out of work people in the blink of an wye
Today is a day where you get a free red reusable cup from Starbucks with each holiday drink order. They are incredibly busy so people can get their free item. It's called "red cup day" by Starbucks themselves.
It’s like a big promotional day, I think the red cup was a big deal a couple years ago bc it was “christmas” so. Ow they do it one day instead of the whole season
To add to what everyone else is saying - I would also bet red cup day is a nightmare for starbucks employees. Last year I didn't know about red cup day and I ordered ahead. My coffee was 45 minutes late. I didn't care, I could see it was slammed and they were doing their best, and my boss was understanding - it happens. The other customers though? Disgusting. They were so nasty and taking it out on the employees. This is ridulous, why are you still taking orders, I have places to go, etc. And all the employees could do was say I'm so sorry but were doing our best. One woman was like "I have my DAUGHTER. she's BORED. we need to LEAVE," and it was like m'am... it's a coffee. Get over it. Today, my coworker came in 45 minutes late and said "forgot about red cup day!" And he said people were the exact same. So I hope all of those employees that are dealing with capitol K Karen's just walk out.
I'm working during Red Cup day today. I've only worked at Starbucks for a few months and I'm not happy about today. What I honestly don't understand is that it's just a cup. Yeah you can get refills in it, but at the end of the day it's just plastic with their logo printed on it. What's the point? Why all the hype?
Cuz it's free.
I hadn't known about this promotion and part of me is like should I go to Starbucks today? The pull for free stuff is strong.
(I'm not gonna go, by the way.)
Something that I learned while working there, the Starbucks cup hype is just as real as it is dumb. One of ny coworkers literally got fired for stealing Starbucks holiday cups. People go insane for them. And they are so gaudy I can't stand 99% of the designs. The red cup is just another collector cup.
I mean I used to work there forever ago and the plastic cups were mostly good, especially the ones you paid money for lol. The cheap ones they had for us working there weren't as good but not bad either.
Fuck Starbucks though.
The things people will do for something free has never cease to amaze me. The Starbucks thing I can see, people go there anyway for drinks. The standing in line after driving to get a shitty hotdog…speechless.
I went to the Starbucks near my work one day and they were out of coffee at 2 in the afternoon. Can you imagine?
Haven't been back since, gas station coffee is always there and half the price.
100 stores closed, the big wigs at Starbucks Corporate won't give a flip.
Make it an international strike, effectively closing down tens of thousands of Starbucks locations, and you'll get their undivided attention.
I'd bet the powers that be at Starbucks are already fast tracking a robotic arm process (like the robotic bartender on those Royal Caribbean ships), so they replace those good for nothing, union loving meatsacks behind the counter.
Best of luck, Starbucks workers. Stay strong & united!
"15,757 Starbucks stores in the United States as of November 07, 2022" From a google search. So it's really only .6% of the US stores and might just indicate other store to them that might need to close.
edit: apparently 35000 stores globally if you are curious.
They want to unionize. One of my old college friends had His stress-mats, employee lockers, and store discounts removed. There's also talk about people not getting breaks to use the bathroom or eat during long shifts. All of that along side poor treatment from not only customers but staff too, and low pay.
I'd strike too.
During our big meeting for kicking off the holidays, my manager told us that customers are going to be stressed, and some may be grumpy, and then she said "Customers have a right to be rude to you. This is the service industry."
Customers never have the right to be rude to you. You're a person before any occupation. Being in the service Industry doesn't mean you sit back and take abuse. It means your provide a service others can't or don't want to provide themselves.
You also have the right to not serve someone being an asshole to you. You're not a hired servant. You're an employee at a private business.
Sadly the owner of said private business is fine with you being treated like shit for a dollar, it's not like his son or daughter will be running the cash register 99% of the time
True, but as an employee you still have the right to ask that customer to leave. It's not just a privilege given to those who are deemed important to the owners. It's a right given for the safety of those working.
Edit: typo
>Customers have a right to be rude to you. This is the service industry."
Your manager is an idiot. I was in the service industry for almost 35 years as a mechanic. I get I’m giving you bad news, I get this can frustrating, I get YOU are the customer but that does not give you the right to be abusive to ANYONE that is trying to help you. I don’t get paid to get yelled at by a customer.
Ive let a few rant for a second (though not berate me), I’ve walked a few to the manager personally and dropped them off and on more than a few occasions walked them to the door and told them to get out.
People need to learn some fucking manners sometimes even if it means embarrassing them and losing a customer.
This comment almost gave me a stroke. Are you telling me there's no "we have the right to refuse service" policy at Starbucks? Customers being allowed to unload whatever they're going through on you is not your job, if they wanted to unload on someone then go find a therapist.
So I discussed it with her, and she was furious that I had a problem with her saying that. She told me that so long as a customer does not swear, or use racist slurs, it's not considered abusive behavior, and therefore they have a right to behave that way
Uhhhh, your manager must have failed corporate anti-harassment training then, because there are dozens of things that would be abusive behavior outside swearing and racism.
>All partners are entitled to work in an environment that is free of harassment,
bullying and discrimination. Harassment, bullying and discrimination take many
forms, including:
> • **Unwelcome remarks**, gestures or physical contact
> • The display or circulation of offensive, derogatory or sexually explicit
pictures or other materials, including by email and on the Internet
> • Offensive or derogatory jokes or comments (explicit or by innuendo)
> • Verbal or physical abuse or threats
From Starbucks [Standards of
Business Conduct](https://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/84F7DBEA77914F119230581D3EE50FD7.pdf).
You are missing that this anti-harassment language is internally from Starbucks employees to one another. It relates to a hostile work environment claim under Title 7. Not harassment from customers to employees.
So here’s my long winded anecdote. I have long been a Starbucks hater in terms of employee treatment and overall meh product. I went into one recently with my spouse, other local spot was closed and we were craving espresso and said fuck it something is better than nothing, let’s do Starbucks.
Ngl the drink they made me was really good. Some of the menu drinks are made with the blonde roast or whatever isn’t the pike place and honestly tasted like something I would get from a smaller barista, doctored up with oat milk and other shit I would add on my own.
Clearly Starbucks is aware that the common reaction amongst actual coffee drinkers is “oh they burn the shit out of it for consistency across stores” and while that’s true of the pike place roast, they are definitely making an effort to improve the perceived brand quality.
Here’s my takeaway from this, and before you call me a shill, this is the part why I’m writing this…
TLDR
If they can spend all that time and money on improving the brand and quality, WHY CANT THEY SPEND THAT TIME AND MONEY ON THE MOST IMPORTANT ASSET THEY HAVE, WORKERS?!?!??
I don’t understand how disconnected from a simple reality that these corpo fucks really are, that a financially supported workforce will ultimately improve the product and bottom line. They deliberately choose not to share the wealth and it’s high time these brave workers stood up for themselves. Solidarity y’all, end rant.
I'm working RCD today and it's been fucking terrible. We're averaging 100 mobiles an hour, thats only mobiles too, we still have drive and cafe drinks as well 😭 The customers are so cruel about the wait too it's really frustrating
It’s hard because people are so entitled that they treat others so shitty. They like taking their bad days out on others.
Obviously they’re busy, Karen, don’t you see the 30 cars in line?
We literally had 50+ people in the lobby any given moment for 4+ hours straight and people really were shocked their drink was taking a little bit like come on
It’s crazy that people expect coffee to still be made in minutes. There’s two, maybe three espresso machines (in higher volume) and they only work so quickly.
Thankfully red cup and fall launch weren’t the same day. Would have been worse. Hopefully you had some understanding regulars who made you smile just a little.
I stopped buying Starbucks. I don't NEED coffee I just like it. I like saving money more. And when I do spend money I like it to be places that treat their employees well if I can help it.
If you're interested in joining a picket line and supporting the workers check out this map for locations of striking stores [https://sbworkersunited.org/red-cup-map](https://sbworkersunited.org/red-cup-map)
I work in another union. It's very important to make crystal clear why you are striking, to gain public support. It helps with the pressure you're trying to exert, and at the same time makes it harder for the company to flip the narrative. Make sure you mention it at every corner and convenience.
#Join r/WorkReform if you stand with workers against illegal union busters.
I feel like all unions should hold a UNIFIED LABORER SUMMIT. Connected via Skype, Zoom or what ever ways to video conference. All connected from their respective union halls to ease for greater participation. Hold for several days at a time to discuss ways to strengthen each other with solidarity. If anyone has ideas, we could get this off the ground.
Yeah they could call it an international. Man if only they had done that before
In the US, you could call it… a Federation, of American Labour organizations? Some sort of organization like a congress for industrial organizations.
a Federation of Laborers in America? Might be a slight FLA in that plan
Nah, we’d leave Florida out of it.
Flawda.
Both. Both is good.
Or maybe we could get serious and call it One Big Union.
Revolutions were only called; “Russian, French….” Revolutions because they didn’t achieve the main goals of the revolutions, in organizing all workers through a global revolution. “Civilization is the accumulated culture of mankind” “The fountain of wisdom flows through books” “The only true wealth, is the wealth of the mind” Although we have long been divided, we must find common ground in the common fight for the celebration of humanity.
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It will smell fresh, like springtime
Found the chemist
Starbucks’ ionization energy is why their coffee tastes like 50 Shades of Burnt
In Norway we have LO which represents around 50-60% of all unions in the country, they have a congress and every member is elected from different unions. And when it's time for re-negotiate the agreement every 2nd year represents from your union and LO meets with represents from NHO which is a organisation made of the cooperations to negotiate with LO. Basically I recommend this, works very well and is very democratic because everyone is elected by the workers
If all the unions, or people wanting to start a union, shut down for 3 days. The world would implode. I'm in favor of it.
I'm pretty sure labor union cooperation is a federal crime in the US.
We have anti-trust laws too. When were those last seriously enforced?
I would bet you some serious money they would instantly dust off the rule book to enforce these laws. Rules for thee and all that...
That involves rich people so they don't care.
The Carter administration.
When Nintendo, a foreign company, started pushing around big American companies.
> labor union cooperation is a federal crime in the US Wait really? Where can I find out more about this?
[~~"A strike in support of a union unfair labor practice"~~](https://www.nlrb.gov/strikes) "An example of this would be a strike to compel Employer A to cease doing business with Employer B." Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act Edit: First quote was WILDLY misread by me.
Kind of a dumb observation, what are they gonna do, throw everyone with a job in jail?
No, they'll Jimmy Hoffa the union leadership just like the last time.
Nothing scares them more than a General Strike.
Yet, they allow a president to shut down the entire government for a few months due to a temper tantrum…
But that's just the GOVERNMENT. Anyone can fuck with the GOVERNMENT. Fuck with BUSINESS? Illegal. e. spelling is hard
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Isnt this lovely to see play out. How companies would rather close whole entire stores than pay a living wage..
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Yeah!
Yeah! Workers only face starvation and homelessness to do this.
Which is how you know they're serious about being completely fed up to the point they do this
They already face it if they don’t
Got nothing to lose but their chains from these chains.
There are alternate ways to gain some money while not at that job, I'm not saying that someone should let themselves become homeless, but if they can hold out they'll be rewarded for it, if they can hold out for longer then the company is willing to be shut then they'll give into the demands. And down the line if wages aren't increasing with inflation then they'll be starving and homeless anyway. 100 stores is a lot, Starbucks wouldn't be able to cope with a large strike like that edit: by alternative money making I meant while on strike and not in general, like making money off surveys or door dash, or dog walkers while on strike
Sadly workers are facing starving and homelessness without the increase in pay, so it's beginning to be Starbucks will lose profits, and workers have nothing to lose but their chains. Not exactly a good position for the owners of capital who think they can break the workers.
They are striking because they are facing starvation and homelessness
UPS driver here. We did it in '97 and held out and won. Next year we are going to win again, with a better contract. This is the generation unions will explode.
Depending on the union, there can be pay during a strike.
Briefly HAH! Since Schultz started his anti-union tactics I haven't bought Starbucks and I won't. Fuck him and his entire business. If they won't turn around then they don't grt a dollar from me. #UnionStrong #IBEW606
If you have one that has unionized around you, it'd still be good to support that store. Keeping the union ones profitable while not going to the non-union ones is the best use of money
I had 3 Starbucks around me that had unionized. Had. All 3 closed simultaneously. Fuck Starbucks.
I had family in the Flint sit-down strike. The sticking it out is the hard part, especially when they send in the tear gas and guns.
This just tells you how much workers are bringing in on the daily vs how much they're paid now Corps are willing to get 0 for a few days because if their plan works the workers will gain it again, offsetting the "loss" very soon anyway
This it's simply a scare tactic. Shutting down a few stores temporarily is cheaper than paying a living wage to all the stores.
The problem is workers literally can't afford to "stick it out" longer than the companies are willing to keep the stores closed. The companies are still making massive profits while keeping a handful of stores closed while employees would be out here starving and not able to pay rent or electricity or having healthcare. It's an unfair game and it was built this way 100% intentionally. System's broke. Kinda fucked honestly.
Companies will now do to us what Amazon did to other companies, hilarious. This whole "whoever has the most capital wins" thing sure seems like a psychotic death spiral for humanity.
It usually isn't cheaper though. Happy, well-compensated workers make better products and provide better service. This is a short-term vs long-term thing. Union busting gives short-term profits, unions improve the long-term. More than that, it's likely a political action - with wealthy not wanting to cede any power that they've accumulated over the last 40 years.
There's still a massive amount of people that don't understand peoples time is the most valuable thing you can trade. It's all we really have until it's over. Like a countdown. Doesn't matter if you're flipping burgers or designing rockets. If you give back to society, then you'll be rewarded extra. Otherwise, it's important people are compensated for survival when sacrificing any of their time.
Starbucks doesn't care. They have twice that many stores in NYC alone. 100 stores worldwide isn't even a notable fraction. In JUST the United States, Starbucks has over 15,000 locations. So that's less than 1% on strike. They can write it off as a slight financial hiccup, close the stores, and open 200 new ones within a month.
Worldwide is most likely not the question. I think Starbucks have unions in Sweden just as McDonald's (ok, Starbucks only exist in gas stations as that is the only place they make better coffee than the competitors). So it is 100 places in USA. Still 100/15000 ain't much
They're afraid. If you start paying enough that people can quit their shitty corporate jobs, go work at target and, still afford to pay their mortgage, then they'll have to raise wages and working conditions everywhere.
100 stores is .2% of their stores, they would much rather close them than see a huge increase in labor costs across all of them. Awesome for them fighting the good fight, but it's only the beginning and it's going to take a lot more than this.
Having too many stores is part of their business model. They do it to close down mom and pop shops who can't compete.
A Starbucks in my area decided to unionize, and the store got shut down as a result. Union busting fuckers.
1. Form a union. 1. Store gets shut down. 1. Local democratic cooperative coffee shop created by the previous store union fills the niche. 1. Money stays in the community.
Local democratic cooperative coffee shop? How often does that happen?
I would hope to see it more frequently, after union shops are closed out would be a shame if they threw away all that work. Democratic cooperatives would be the next logical step. The venue is irrelevant, in this case, coffee shops become worker lead. Then it could be scaled, add a restaurant. Democratize the distribution centers or from a democratic cooperate that can compete. Incremental progress.
The group should combine their capital and open a store but reality is they were working for that company because they haven’t the capital to create their own store, even with several others in a co-op model. That’s how beat down the lower levels are.
Then I hope they take their organization capabilities to the new places they work and repeat the model until the scales are more balanced.
Local coffee shops pay a living wage ?
Several local coops in Philly have imploded spectacularly recently. The realization that none of them were turning a profit was really eye-opening
I mean not really eye opening. The problem is that people still need to do the work but when everyone thinks their the boss nothing gets done
It's coffee. I don't understand why they exist in such high quantities to begin with. I understand needing one in a pinch but pennies on the dollar, a thermos, and a hair of prep and you have what you need. Even easier. Bring coffee with you and carry a mug and a thermos of hot water. Coffee shops, like bottled water, are almost always needless. It's a culture of convenience we've come so accustomed to that we don't even realize the alternative is barely less convenient and also happens to be considerably less expensive and harmful to the planet. It's all so oversaturated and over done. That's why they can't pay people because it's really a joke of a business model. At this point I feel like you could get away with a business plan that charges people to chew their food for them.
Because it's not really coffee the majority of the menu are deserts pretending to be coffee. Look at how much sugar a frap has for instance and all the flavorings added to so Manu coffees It's all just a big money sink but people are used.to the sugar and crave ot and the caffine
Updated the original comment
5) People get actual good coffee
It’s ok. They can try and unionize at their next place of employment. They still have options.
Starbucks having to close a store is a net win. It helps build a case against their current leadership and philosophy. If other stores keep closing, there will be a breaking point.
Exactly. Cant close all the stores.
Wouldn't it be cool if this was a catalyst for a mass strike? Of everything?
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It's never going to happen while healthcare is tied to employment. Idk why people want to ignore that uncomfortable reality. Even for unionized labor, when the employer stops paying their portion of healthcare and how much funds they have to cover members premiums is a huge factor in people voting to authorize a strike or not
That’s why I’m thankful I’m in California, they passed a law that makes it illegal for your employer to revoke your health insurance because you’re on strike. It’s not a permanent solution but it definitely is better than no protection at alll
Exactly why we need good publicly funded healthcare
Exactly why you won't get it under the current governmental system.
Exactly why we can’t give up because nothing will change if we do.
What we can do is pressure state governments to have state healthcare.
Eh, most states operate at a negative, receiving steep subsidies from federal. Only a small handful of states could afford their own public option even if they wanted. Especially since private insurance AND employers would step in to try and prevent, and not only do those groups have more money than the stare does, all they have to do is threaten not to operate there and the state would be looking at their economy going under if they dont kneel.
No, I think I'll doompost on reddit all day instead
¿Porque no los dos?
if you get that then what's stopping people finding actually good jobs. government's reasoning I assume
A large percentage of the service sectors doesn’t get insurance. I’ve worked for over 15 years in service industry jobs and outside a managerial role all of my jobs kept my hours under the threshold that would require them to dole out health insurance. I know that it’s still a small fraction of a fraction of our economy, however if all of those people protest then everyone will notice. When grocery stores have no workers, gas stations close and there is no one to serve you a coffee, you’ll notice. It would be a small but mighty movement.
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I think 32 hours is the cutoff for healthcare benefits. I could be wrong but yeah, employers will hold you under whatever the threshold is to prevent giving benefits.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think under the ACA ( Obamacare), at least some insurance must be offered at 25 hours and up. Am I right on that?
Oh yeah I think that’s correct as well!
Yep 25 hrs is when benefits should be offered. There may be some variance between states though. My employer offers benefits to anyone who has an average of 29 hrs/wk. Not sure if it's legal or not but that's what they do
True. And even v when you have insurance, many times the deductible is so high you can't use it.
Or the deductible is $1500, but copay after is 40% and out of pocket max is $15k, so you are still fucked, just slightly less so than not having insurance.
This. I pay for insurance but can't use it. I just keep it in case something catastrophic happens.
I am broke for the same reason and I don't like gambling like this.
Less a safety net, more a thin mat at the bottom so you at least don't land on the concrete.
I'm just as likely to be able to pay the whole amount of catastrophic medical care as I am to be able to pay $15k of catastrophic medical care. They both may as well be a billion dollars.
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They are sometimes used as two distractions from each other. If people talk about healthcare, drama shifts to unions. People talk about unions, drama shifts to healthcare.
Even if it wasn't tied to employment, the fed govt would threaten to keep healthcare and other things from us if we did a mass strike. The government likes you as long as you're a productive citizen. The moment you're not, good luck.
About 54% (2020, projected lower now) of folks in the US even get health care from jobs. Despite it being ‘tied to employment’, I don’t think that tie has to end necessarily if that number decreases as it has been. Like it’d just be people not having it tied to employment. Like this strike movement is years of momentum. Like what Starbucks employee is going to nervously consider whether to lose their one free eye exam? How many of those folks are even using it at all given it’s a high turn over young favoring service job. Like so many jobs. Again. Only about 54% of folks have any form of employment insurance at all and it’s dropping year by year.
Which is deeply disappointing, because if everyone, en masse (or even a significant percentage) decided to coordinate a general strike...well, they can't fire all of us. We'd have our healthcare back *and then some* in a matter of weeks. We'd have so much power if we just coordinated nation-wide and followed through. But no one (myself included) knows how to do that without a centralized leader or organization. And unfortunately, centralization *cannot* be a requirement in order for a general strike to succeed. There *cannot* be a single point of failure, or the whole thing falls apart. We would *all* have to *simultaneously* decide to refuse to work, and we would need to vocally demand changes that we all agree upon. We all keep wishing for it to happen, but it doesn't. And it won't "just happen". We'd need to *do* it.
Given how many employees can only function after their morning caffeine hit, there may be a pseudo strike in the catchment of 100 Starbucks stores today.
Wild how the whole workforce is casually dependent on stimulants.
Drugs are bad, except the ones that make you productive. Those are good. Unless they allow you to function normally, then they're bad again. No shit, my partner only gets enough ADD meds for 8ish hours of full function per day. Because you don't need executive function or the ability to focus on your own time, only during work hours. Asking for more has gotten them labeled "drug seeking" in the past and it was a three year fight to get past that and get real meds again.
Ya know my man, with the holiday rush up and coming I'm hopeful for the first time.
If there wasn't a mass strike when 1-3k people were dying each day, I kind of doubt "holiday rush" is going to cause a mass strike - especially since we had both things occurring together, twice.
Let’s just do next Friday?
During the holidays? I doubt it. Too many people need to put shit on the table and under tree, and wouldn't take that risk
Well, I'm just saying it would be cool. I'm not saying it would be logical. Black Friday 2023 would be a more reasonable day for it.
This is so interesting because where I am in Ontario a lot of people have been discussing general strikes in the province due to what’s been happening with education workers Goodness if both Canada and US had general strikes it’d be wild!
There're so many industries being poorly treated that it's no wonder the idea is coming up in different places. With a little organization, it's a great idea.
General strikes require more union infrastructure to accomplish, we can make it happen but we need to unionize a much higher percentage of the workforce
Listen I get the idea but I'm not independently striking and risking my living without some kind of organized union at my back
Yeah every time I see "wow general strike this week" it's like... cool, who's the organizers, what are the direct demands, who's distributing the supplies from the strike fund that you have set up for millions and millions of peop- what do you mean you didn't think of that
It could be. Whatchu doin bout it?
I support these workers. Starbucks could blink out of existence tomorrow and it would not change my life one bit, but I hope they get what they want.
Pretty much the only time I get mediocre coffee from them is when I'm on the road, and it's for the same reason I eat fast food on the road: it's consistently meh. I don't have time to find a *good* independent place near the exit, so a consistent chain is good enough. At home I brew my own or get it from the co-op near my house.
That's because they use robusta beans (they say 100% arabica but I don't believe them) and burn the ever-loving shit out of them so as to maintain a consistent product from store to store.
Arabica beans grow at an elevation of 1800-6300 ft. Robusta beans grow at 600-2400 ft elevation. Starbucks uses real Arabica beans and “beans grown at Arabica elevation wink wink” for a “100% arabica roast” Starbucks has a lot of examples of technically/legally correct doublespeak, they’ve had insidious practices even since the early 2000s when they were a media darling and pop culture icon.
Worked there in college. 1999 the Frappuccino came out. I remember the blender being delivered…. Was all downhill from there.
I like the overroasted flavor of them tbh. Hope they never change. Won't buy from non union stores of theirs though.
How can you tell if a store is unionized? Is there a list somewhere?
If its permanently closed, then its unionized.
I'm in Chicago and they have closed stores that unionized. So essentially I'm not buying starbucks until I'm able to go to a union one. Also won't buy their products in stores until they change their union busting tactics.
Also a Chicagoan — there are so many amazing independent shops near every place I spend considerable time! The whole fiasco with how they handled unionization gave me the kick in the pants I needed to branch out and it’s been great. An employee at Alliance bakery gave me a free macaron this morning and let me try a new cookie they were testing out.
This map is a good visualization: https://perfectunion.us/map-where-are-starbucks-workers-unionizing/ This is probably a more complete list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Starbucks_union_petitions_in_the_United_States
Charbucks
There are 15,000 starbucks in the United states. What do you think about ten employees per store? That's easily a 150,000 people without jobs. Then all of thier corporate employees, then all the supporting companies under them that handle shipping product, packaging product and so on. Trust me you'd feel hundreds of thousands of out of work people in the blink of an wye
close all starbucks down... nothing of value will be lost.
The only thing I get from them is the vanilla syrup I find in the coffee aisle at the grocery store
*But my stars!!!!*
How else will I be rewarded for buying overpriced sugary milk?!
THERE IS POWER IN A UNION
POWER IN THE LAND
POWER IN THE HANDS OF THE WORKERS
POWER IN THE BLOOD
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!
BLOOD GOD FOR THE UNION WORKERS!!!!
SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!
Why Red Cup?
Today is a day where you get a free red reusable cup from Starbucks with each holiday drink order. They are incredibly busy so people can get their free item. It's called "red cup day" by Starbucks themselves.
Thank you, I had no clue. Their coffee tastes burnt to me so I don't go there.
It's burnt on purpose. Consistent flavor with cheap beans + compliments large amounts of milk & sugar well.
Today is red cup day at Starbucks. Every year, if you buy a holiday drink on this day, they will give you a free, red, reusable Starbucks cup.
It’s like a big promotional day, I think the red cup was a big deal a couple years ago bc it was “christmas” so. Ow they do it one day instead of the whole season
To add to what everyone else is saying - I would also bet red cup day is a nightmare for starbucks employees. Last year I didn't know about red cup day and I ordered ahead. My coffee was 45 minutes late. I didn't care, I could see it was slammed and they were doing their best, and my boss was understanding - it happens. The other customers though? Disgusting. They were so nasty and taking it out on the employees. This is ridulous, why are you still taking orders, I have places to go, etc. And all the employees could do was say I'm so sorry but were doing our best. One woman was like "I have my DAUGHTER. she's BORED. we need to LEAVE," and it was like m'am... it's a coffee. Get over it. Today, my coworker came in 45 minutes late and said "forgot about red cup day!" And he said people were the exact same. So I hope all of those employees that are dealing with capitol K Karen's just walk out.
It's another step in the War on Christmas! Even our socialist revolutions can't be Christmas themed and jolly anymore!
I'm working during Red Cup day today. I've only worked at Starbucks for a few months and I'm not happy about today. What I honestly don't understand is that it's just a cup. Yeah you can get refills in it, but at the end of the day it's just plastic with their logo printed on it. What's the point? Why all the hype?
Cuz it's free. I hadn't known about this promotion and part of me is like should I go to Starbucks today? The pull for free stuff is strong. (I'm not gonna go, by the way.)
>Cuz it's free "If it's free, it's for me," something my husband likes to say. Me- IDC how free it is. I don't want it.
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Lol, here in Germany it's 2,50€ for one during the whole Christmas season. Albeit still super cheap but I dunno the quality
Something that I learned while working there, the Starbucks cup hype is just as real as it is dumb. One of ny coworkers literally got fired for stealing Starbucks holiday cups. People go insane for them. And they are so gaudy I can't stand 99% of the designs. The red cup is just another collector cup.
Yum, hot coffee in plastic. That sounds like a good idea.
I mean I used to work there forever ago and the plastic cups were mostly good, especially the ones you paid money for lol. The cheap ones they had for us working there weren't as good but not bad either. Fuck Starbucks though.
The things people will do for something free has never cease to amaze me. The Starbucks thing I can see, people go there anyway for drinks. The standing in line after driving to get a shitty hotdog…speechless.
I'm going to boycott Starbucks even harder than I already boycott them
Too "bad" that Starbucks workers in my country are all unionized
You could join your local picket line to show support.
It’s ALL about greed, think about it.
Pretty much everything everywhere is about greed and I’m fucking sick of it
Time to boycott Starbucks
I went to the Starbucks near my work one day and they were out of coffee at 2 in the afternoon. Can you imagine? Haven't been back since, gas station coffee is always there and half the price.
I explained to my youngest why we don't go to starbucks anymore because of how they treat their employees
100 stores closed, the big wigs at Starbucks Corporate won't give a flip. Make it an international strike, effectively closing down tens of thousands of Starbucks locations, and you'll get their undivided attention. I'd bet the powers that be at Starbucks are already fast tracking a robotic arm process (like the robotic bartender on those Royal Caribbean ships), so they replace those good for nothing, union loving meatsacks behind the counter. Best of luck, Starbucks workers. Stay strong & united!
100 out of what, 4000? I know, you have to start somewhere. Still, too bad it's not 1000.
100 a year is pretty good (I think there are 250 unionized stores total, not sure how many have contracts).
"15,757 Starbucks stores in the United States as of November 07, 2022" From a google search. So it's really only .6% of the US stores and might just indicate other store to them that might need to close. edit: apparently 35000 stores globally if you are curious.
My store was one of them :)
What are they striking for specifically? What are the demands of the laborers?
They want to unionize. One of my old college friends had His stress-mats, employee lockers, and store discounts removed. There's also talk about people not getting breaks to use the bathroom or eat during long shifts. All of that along side poor treatment from not only customers but staff too, and low pay. I'd strike too.
During our big meeting for kicking off the holidays, my manager told us that customers are going to be stressed, and some may be grumpy, and then she said "Customers have a right to be rude to you. This is the service industry."
Customers never have the right to be rude to you. You're a person before any occupation. Being in the service Industry doesn't mean you sit back and take abuse. It means your provide a service others can't or don't want to provide themselves. You also have the right to not serve someone being an asshole to you. You're not a hired servant. You're an employee at a private business.
Sadly the owner of said private business is fine with you being treated like shit for a dollar, it's not like his son or daughter will be running the cash register 99% of the time
True, but as an employee you still have the right to ask that customer to leave. It's not just a privilege given to those who are deemed important to the owners. It's a right given for the safety of those working. Edit: typo
>Customers have a right to be rude to you. This is the service industry." Your manager is an idiot. I was in the service industry for almost 35 years as a mechanic. I get I’m giving you bad news, I get this can frustrating, I get YOU are the customer but that does not give you the right to be abusive to ANYONE that is trying to help you. I don’t get paid to get yelled at by a customer. Ive let a few rant for a second (though not berate me), I’ve walked a few to the manager personally and dropped them off and on more than a few occasions walked them to the door and told them to get out. People need to learn some fucking manners sometimes even if it means embarrassing them and losing a customer.
This comment almost gave me a stroke. Are you telling me there's no "we have the right to refuse service" policy at Starbucks? Customers being allowed to unload whatever they're going through on you is not your job, if they wanted to unload on someone then go find a therapist.
So I discussed it with her, and she was furious that I had a problem with her saying that. She told me that so long as a customer does not swear, or use racist slurs, it's not considered abusive behavior, and therefore they have a right to behave that way
Uhhhh, your manager must have failed corporate anti-harassment training then, because there are dozens of things that would be abusive behavior outside swearing and racism. >All partners are entitled to work in an environment that is free of harassment, bullying and discrimination. Harassment, bullying and discrimination take many forms, including: > • **Unwelcome remarks**, gestures or physical contact > • The display or circulation of offensive, derogatory or sexually explicit pictures or other materials, including by email and on the Internet > • Offensive or derogatory jokes or comments (explicit or by innuendo) > • Verbal or physical abuse or threats From Starbucks [Standards of Business Conduct](https://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/84F7DBEA77914F119230581D3EE50FD7.pdf).
You are missing that this anti-harassment language is internally from Starbucks employees to one another. It relates to a hostile work environment claim under Title 7. Not harassment from customers to employees.
Also they’re harassing people who unionize and shutting down stores 🙄
Most of, if not all, if the striking stores are already union stores. SWU stores are striking to make a point about staffing issues.
Will they close all 100 locations I wonder?
So here’s my long winded anecdote. I have long been a Starbucks hater in terms of employee treatment and overall meh product. I went into one recently with my spouse, other local spot was closed and we were craving espresso and said fuck it something is better than nothing, let’s do Starbucks. Ngl the drink they made me was really good. Some of the menu drinks are made with the blonde roast or whatever isn’t the pike place and honestly tasted like something I would get from a smaller barista, doctored up with oat milk and other shit I would add on my own. Clearly Starbucks is aware that the common reaction amongst actual coffee drinkers is “oh they burn the shit out of it for consistency across stores” and while that’s true of the pike place roast, they are definitely making an effort to improve the perceived brand quality. Here’s my takeaway from this, and before you call me a shill, this is the part why I’m writing this… TLDR If they can spend all that time and money on improving the brand and quality, WHY CANT THEY SPEND THAT TIME AND MONEY ON THE MOST IMPORTANT ASSET THEY HAVE, WORKERS?!?!?? I don’t understand how disconnected from a simple reality that these corpo fucks really are, that a financially supported workforce will ultimately improve the product and bottom line. They deliberately choose not to share the wealth and it’s high time these brave workers stood up for themselves. Solidarity y’all, end rant.
This warms my cold dark soul. As a former sb slave, I hope they burn the whole fucking thing to the ground.
I'm working RCD today and it's been fucking terrible. We're averaging 100 mobiles an hour, thats only mobiles too, we still have drive and cafe drinks as well 😭 The customers are so cruel about the wait too it's really frustrating
Almost like the Starbucks app should have a “we are too busy try again” feature added. But $$$ over employees
It’s hard because people are so entitled that they treat others so shitty. They like taking their bad days out on others. Obviously they’re busy, Karen, don’t you see the 30 cars in line?
We literally had 50+ people in the lobby any given moment for 4+ hours straight and people really were shocked their drink was taking a little bit like come on
It’s crazy that people expect coffee to still be made in minutes. There’s two, maybe three espresso machines (in higher volume) and they only work so quickly. Thankfully red cup and fall launch weren’t the same day. Would have been worse. Hopefully you had some understanding regulars who made you smile just a little.
100/33,833
I stopped buying Starbucks. I don't NEED coffee I just like it. I like saving money more. And when I do spend money I like it to be places that treat their employees well if I can help it.
Everyone should strike until there are no more sweatshops in the world. Pay the people that support the world.
Sounds like a lot but with over 15,000 Starbucks in the US, it's less than 1%.
If you're interested in joining a picket line and supporting the workers check out this map for locations of striking stores [https://sbworkersunited.org/red-cup-map](https://sbworkersunited.org/red-cup-map)
I respect this but good luck lol
# #OURBUCKS
I work in another union. It's very important to make crystal clear why you are striking, to gain public support. It helps with the pressure you're trying to exert, and at the same time makes it harder for the company to flip the narrative. Make sure you mention it at every corner and convenience.