Posts tagged baristas
La Colombe Fires West Loop Baristas as Unionized Workers Cry Foul
December 11, 2024 // During the meetings, the baristas were shown videos of them working. In the footage, the baristas were giving away free drip coffee to regular patrons, other service industry workers, and unhoused individuals. Throughout the meetings, the company’s representatives questioned the baristas and took detailed notes.
Starbucks Could Owe Millions To Baristas Who Unionized
October 16, 2024 // A new federal complaint alleges the chain slashed workers' schedules without bargaining. The new NLRB complaint alleges Starbucks changed workers’ hours “without prior notice to the Union and without affording the Union an opportunity to bargain.” The complaint also says Starbucks has refused to provide the union information about the changes and how they impacted members’ paychecks.
Baristas at Flatwoods Starbucks seek unionization for second time after failed bid in 2023
July 11, 2024 // Following the failed election for the Flatwoods store last year, Tambellini said the union filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board. “Those charges were settled and now they’re trying for a second time,” Tambellini said. According to the NLRB, objections were filed by the union and workers seeking union recognition following the March vote. Those documents were not available to be viewed by publication time Tuesday.
UAW president Shawn Fain on labor’s comeback: “This is what happens when workers get power”
February 26, 2024 // Volkswagen worker Shaun Lawler says skepticism of the UAW runs deep in the community. When asked how his family views unions, he replied, "They don't see it as a good opportunity; they see layoffs." What do they call unions? "They call them communist," Lawler said.
Starbucks union organizes record 21 stores in 1 day
February 22, 2024 // The organizing blitz is likely intended to pressure the coffee chain, which says it wants to reach contracts at all organized stores this year, during negotiations.
Adda Coffee & Tea House reaches agreement with union
February 14, 2024 // Under the preliminary agreement, the company will give employees a compensation package in exchange for the union withdrawing its petition to the National Labor Relations Board for an election to represent the workers. Adda Coffee & Tea House, which had four locations, announced in January that it was closed effective immediately. The business said it had been operating at a loss since the beginning and the pandemic exacerbated its struggles.
Opinion: Is The American Labor Movement Ready For Gen Z?
February 12, 2024 // It’s fair to ask what any of this has to do with unions’ supposed goal of bargaining for better wages and conditions for workers. The data is regrettably clear: with this trend towards increased activism, representation for actual union members has suffered. Some of the nation’s largest labor unions routinely spend as much or more on political activities than they do on representing their existing members. For example, in 2022 the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), representing over 1.8 million workers, spent $63.5 million on political activities and lobbying, which is more than double what it spent representing its membership. The American Federation of Teachers spent $46.9 million supporting Left-wing politics in 2023, while the National Education Association spent less on member representation than it did on political causes. Organized labor is already diverting too much time and money away from the well-being of workers and toward unrelated political agendas. As more members of Gen Z join unions and gain leadership positions, we can only expect this trend to increase.
Second Group of Philly Ultimo Coffee Employees Successfully Remove Unwanted “Workers United” Union
January 18, 2024 // Within the last year, Starbucks employees in Manhattan, NY; two Buffalo, NY locations; Pittsburgh, PA; Bloomington, MN; Salt Lake City, UT; Greenville, SC; Oklahoma City, OK; and San Antonio, TX, have all sought free Foundation legal aid in navigating NLRB processes to decertify the WU union. Workers from a Center City Starbucks in Philadelphia are also pursuing a decertification petition against WU with Foundation legal assistance. Coffee employees in the Philadelphia area have scored a string of recent victories in removing unpopular union officials. In May 2023, workers at Guava and Java’s location at Philadelphia International Airport successfully voted to oust UNITE HERE union officials, and a few months later Good Karma Café employees cast ballots to remove the WU union. This month, Ultimo Coffee barista Samuel Tarasenko and his colleagues successfully forced WU out of the coffee shop’s Germantown-area location.
Across the Midwest, unions are breaking through in a way they haven’t in decades
December 20, 2023 // Union members and labor experts agree that a collective sense of job insecurity and frustration over wages and working conditions are driving activity in the region.
Four Ann Arbor Sweetwaters’ locations unionize for better pay and clearer firing policies
December 14, 2023 // Workers at four Ann Arbor Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea locations announced that they filed to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board in an Instagram post Thursday evening. The workers at the Michigan Union, West Washington Street, Westgate Library and Meijer Ann Arbor-Saline Road locations will be organizing together as a single bargaining unit, with the goals of increasing pay, improving benefits and creating a clearer process for firing employees. The locations will be represented by Teamsters Local 243, the local chapter of the international union International Brotherhood of Teamsters.