LOCAL INDUSTRIAL WORKERS TO PARTICIPATE IN GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION
AGAINST STARBUCKS
TEMPE, Arizona - Following a call for support from Starbucks employees
in Sevilla, Spain and Grand Rapids, Michigan, along with the Starbucks
Workers' Union (part of the Industrial Workers of the World) and CNT-
AIT union in Spain, the Phoenix General Membership Branch (GMB) of the
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) will participate in the "Global
Day of Action Against Starbucks".
On Saturday, July 05, the Phoenix GMB of the Industrial Workers of the
World will stand in solidarity with Starbucks workers throughout the
nation and the world, calling customers' attention to worker
grievances and spreading awareness of the Starbucks Workers' Union
among employees. The action will take place at Starbucks, 420 S. Mill
Ave., Tempe, at 10AM.
The call for a day of action against Starbucks comes on the heels of
recent firings by the coffee giant of workers trying to unionize, as
well as a litany of other failures on the part of Starbucks to improve
conditions for their workers. Most baristas earn far less than a
living wage and suffer from unsecured hours, making financial planning
impossible. In addition, Starbucks often greatly understaffs their
locations -- making them more profitable at the cost of overworked
baristas and unsafe working conditions.
In the face of such a staunchly anti-union corporation, the Industrial
Workers of the World, through the Starbucks Workers' Union, has been
the only union to successfully organize workers at several Starbucks
locations, in several states, winning higher wages, more stable hours,
and safer working environments.
The Industrial Workers of the World is an industrial union formed in
1905. In its one-hundred-plus years of existence, the IWW has
developed a rich history of direct action in the workplace resulting
in higher wages, better working conditions, and in some cases direct
control of the workplace by workers. Unlike traditional trade unions,
the IWW seeks to unify all workers in a cooperative manner to abolish
the wage system. Also unlike trade unions, there are no formal union
bosses, with members in direct control of the union's activities. For
more information, visit: http://www.iww.org.
The Phoenix General Membership Branch (GMB) is the local affiliate of
the Industrial Workers of the World and agitates to bring direct
worker control over workplaces in the Phoenix metropolitan area, with
the ultimate goal of abolishing the wage system. The Phoenix GMB meets
the first and third Sunday of every month at 3 Roots Cafe, 1020 S.
Mill Ave., Tempe.
