FIVE STARBUCKS WORKERS SACKED FOR FORMING A UNION
For almost 3 years workers in Starbucks have been organising in their franchises in the USA. Starbucks have responded by waging a war of intimidation against the unionising workers. Already 5 employees have lost their jobs – Joseph Agins, Charles Fostrom, Evan Winterscheidt, Daniel Gross (Founder of the Starbucks Union) and Isis Saenz. This is a warning shot towards anyone attempting to improve work conditions. However, Starbucks workers have fought back: winning 2 workers their jobs back and more than $2000 in lost earnings. In New York City, workers have gained a 25% wage increase in just over 2 years, with similar raises in other areas they have organised.
“PLEASE DRINK SOMEWHERE ELSE TODAY”
We are asking the public to drink their coffee somewhere else, to protest Starbucks unfair practises. We also offer our support and assistance to any Starbucks barista considering organising his or her workplace. Regular pickets will be held at various franchises throughout South London to highlight Starbucks’ attacks on its workers, and to show solidarity with the 5 sacked workers in the USA.
WHY ORGANISE AT WORK?
Almost none of us really want to go to work in the morning. We do anyway because the rent and bills need paying, and we want money for ourselves (and our families), and maybe even a little bit for a social life! Sometimes however, things at your job can really get to be too much. The pay’s too low, the workload’s too tiring and management is always on your back. For many people, the immediate solution would be to find another job – only to find it’s exactly the same.
But there is another option. Together, we can fight to make our working lives more bearable. Coffee baristas in the States did just that, working together to form the Starbucks Workers Union (SWU) together with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Thus far they’ve organised 6 franchises in New York City alone, and Starbucks Union members exert influence in many other Starbucks outlets.
There are plenty of ways in which we can better our working lives. It could be as basic as covering for a workmate or as extreme as going on strike for better pay or hours. What’s important is that we stick together: working collectively for stuff that all of us want.
VICTORY IN THE USA, ORGANISING IN THE UK
The Starbucks Workers Union won a major victory over unfair labour practices, in a conflict between the world's largest coffee chain and the baristas who work there. Faced with the prospect of having its widespread union-busting campaign exposed in a public hearing, Starbucks agreed to remedy many of the violations committed against workers who have organised a union. Workers from Leicester in this country recently followed suit and created Baristas United, which is open to employees of any coffee shop.
ELSEWHERE…
The Starbucks Workers Union is calling for Starbucks to recognize Ethiopia’s development of premium coffee varieties. If the rights to names such as Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe were recognized, coffee farmers in Ethiopia would get almost £50 million extra per year. see www.starbucksunion.org
SOLIDARITY
Only by sticking together can we improve our lives. The fired Starbucks workers sought to do that, and Starbucks are attempting to punish them for this. This cannot just be forgotten, and we must all stand together, and let Starbucks know they cannot get away with this. If you are interested in trying to organise, please speak to one of the people handing out these leaflets for information or a copy of our leaflet “Stuff your Boss doesn’t want you to know”.
This information produced on a leaflet by South London Solidarity Federation – contact: southlondonsf@solfed.org.uk
For further information, take a look at: www.solfed.org.uk ; www.starbucksunion.org ; www.iww.org.uk ; www.baristasunited.org.uk
IMCista
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News and views on Ethiopia's finest specialty coffees - Sidamo, Harar, Yirgacheffe and Others
Ethiopian Coffee Trademark Videos on YouTube
Robert Winter, a senior partner at Arnold & Porter, posted a video on YouTube explaining his view regarding the Ethiopian coffee trademark dispute associated with the names of three of its most famous coffee-growing regions.
The video posted on the site was a response to a video posted in December by Dub Hay, Starbucks Coffee Co. senior vice president, claiming the trademark and licensing scheme was illegal.
The video posted on the site was a response to a video posted in December by Dub Hay, Starbucks Coffee Co. senior vice president, claiming the trademark and licensing scheme was illegal.
What's in a name? Ethiopia's battle against Starbucks (FP)
Ethiopia, fed up with getting short-changed when selling its popular coffee products to the West, has been in legal conflict with Starbucks since 2005. Ethiopia complains that while a pound of coffee sold in the United States nets Ethiopian farmers about $1, the same pound of coffee sells for $26 at Starbucks under the name "Shirkina Sun-Dried Sidamo." Ethiopia argues that the high price for its coffee is not just the result of roasting, packaging or marketing in the United States, but because there is something consumers intrinsically value in Ethiopian coffee. Ethiopia is frustrated that it hasn't been able to capitalize on the "intellectual property" of its coffee-producing regions, and wants that to change.
In March 2005, Ethiopia filed a case with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark the names of three of its renowned coffee-producing regions (Yirgacheffe, Harrar and Sidamo), hoping that eventually the government will be able to force buyers into licensing agreements and thereby gain a bigger share of the sales. Starbucks, which had already applied to trademark Shirkina Sun-dried Sidamo, has been able to stall Ethiopia's progress by not responding to Ethiopia's request to drop its petition. Starbucks argues that Ethiopia should opt for "geographic certification" (used for Idaho potatoes and Florida oranges) rather than an outright geographic trademark. Ethiopia counters that it just doesn't have the resources to bear the burden of certification, and that it still wouldn't necessarily help Ethiopia earn more from coffee sold in those regions. Starbucks could still sell its Sidamo coffee for the same price—as long as it actually comes from Sidamo.
Starbucks sources only 2 percent of its beans from Ethiopia at the moment, accounting for around 2 percent of the Ethiopia's crop. Nonetheless, if Ethiopia wins its petition, it is likely to earn an extra $88 million in revenues. So for Ethiopia, there's a lot in a name.
Source: Foreign Policy
In March 2005, Ethiopia filed a case with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark the names of three of its renowned coffee-producing regions (Yirgacheffe, Harrar and Sidamo), hoping that eventually the government will be able to force buyers into licensing agreements and thereby gain a bigger share of the sales. Starbucks, which had already applied to trademark Shirkina Sun-dried Sidamo, has been able to stall Ethiopia's progress by not responding to Ethiopia's request to drop its petition. Starbucks argues that Ethiopia should opt for "geographic certification" (used for Idaho potatoes and Florida oranges) rather than an outright geographic trademark. Ethiopia counters that it just doesn't have the resources to bear the burden of certification, and that it still wouldn't necessarily help Ethiopia earn more from coffee sold in those regions. Starbucks could still sell its Sidamo coffee for the same price—as long as it actually comes from Sidamo.
Starbucks sources only 2 percent of its beans from Ethiopia at the moment, accounting for around 2 percent of the Ethiopia's crop. Nonetheless, if Ethiopia wins its petition, it is likely to earn an extra $88 million in revenues. So for Ethiopia, there's a lot in a name.
Source: Foreign Policy
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