Pittsburgh Rises-Up in Global Days of Action Against Starbucks

PITTSBURGH, PA — Local members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), joined by Friends of Labor supporters from across the city, participated in the IWW Starbucks Union’s “Global Days of Action” in a picket held here on November 24, 2006. For an hour on a sunny Friday afternoon, over twenty workers supporting the Starbucks Workers Union carried picket signs and loudly chanted in front of the Squirrel Hill Starbucks at the corner of Forbes and Shady Avenue. This was part of a broader movement in many cities around the world to protest Starbucks’ anti-union practices and the wrongful termination of five union workers.

Since I started reading Indymedia and getting the e-mail updates from Workers Independent News I’ve come to learn of the Starbucks Union and their fight. The Starbucks Union in Manhattan has been fighting Starbucks for better wages and worker protections for at least three years now. The reason I find the Starbucks Union even more interesting is because they are organized under what is called minority unionism. As a customer when I go into my local Starbucks I mention the union to the employees. Which must really upset the management which is good!

Technorati Tags: IWW, Starbucks_Union, Starbucks