I first learned about direct action after reading about the IWW Starbucks Union a few years back. I learned that the Starbucks Union was thwarted in 2004 in an attempt to organize some stores in Manhattan. So after that the Starbucks Union decided to organize using the direct action model. Since then they’ve done great work.

Founded in 1905, the IWW has a colorful history of workplace agitation. The “Wobblies,” as they were known, included prominent labor leaders such as Eugene Debs, Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, and William “Big Bill” Haywood. Their goal was to bring all workers into “One Big Union” and ultimately to abolish the wage labor system. Rather than try to negotiate with companies through contract bargaining or support political candidates, the IWW engages in what Gross and others call “direct action.” It pressures companies like Starbucks by assaulting their public image, picketing stores, and organizing Internet campaigns.

The SWU is especially keen on tarnishing Starbucks’ image as a “socially responsible” company. Gross says Starbucks has a systematic problem with low wages, irregular working hours, and a lack of reliable health care. One statistic the union likes to point to is that only 42% of Starbucks workers use its health-care plan—even lower than the rate at Wal-Mart. Starbucks maintains that it pays competitive wages and is among the first large employers to offer health insurance to part-time employees, who make up 100% of its workforce.

In David Sirota’s book The Uprising there is a statistic that says up to 27 percent of a corporation’s stock price is attributable to intangibles like a corporation’s reputation, this is what makes direct action an excellent model. When corporations take away every other attempt to organize throurgh the NLRB, direct actioin is the last resort. Even when you get a union established through an election, direct action is still an important tool. I think SEIU has been effective using direct action in their campaigns as well as the CIW which isn’t a union but a community-based worker organization. I expect to see more high profile direct action campaigns waged in 2009. Bring it on!