Legendary IWW returns to Grand Rapids, Mi (Starbucks Union)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.iww.org/en/node/3453

Legendary IWW returns to Grand Rapids
Submitted by intexile on Thu, 05/31/2007 - 12:04pm.

By Micheal Johnston - Grand Valley Labor News, June 2007

They’re twenty-somethings, idealistic, motivated and creative. In Grand Rapids they’ve been raised in anti-union, narrowly conservative and hyper-religious West Michigan. Until recently they viewed unions with hostility or as dinosaurs awaiting extinction. Most were indifferent to unions until now.

Across the globe, across the U.S., and in West Michigan they are shaking up the moribund labor movement and the Starbucks world of overpriced coffee, underpaid workers and hypocritical marketing.

Baristas at the Wealthy Street Starbucks, in East Grand Rapids, announced May 17 their membership in the IWW Starbucks Workers Union (www.starbucksunion.org), becoming the first store in Michigan to declare union membership at the world’s largest coffee chain.




On the third anniversary of the founding of the IWW Starbucks Union in the U.S., Grand Rapids wobblies (as IWW members have been known for over one hundred years), coordinated their coming out at the same time Chicago IWW barristas marched into their shop and told their manager they were signing up into the union.

Wobs in G.R. served Starbucks management at the cafe, located on 2172 Wealthy St. SE, with a declaration of union membership and a set of demands including a living wage, guaranteed work hours, reinstatement of IWW baristas fired for organizing activity, and respect for an independent voice on the job.

Grand Rapids, Chicago and New York wobblies were also joined by Starbucks workers in Austria, England, Spain and Australia who demonstrated in front of stores to protest the company’s union-busting tactics.


FULL story at link.