Dear Friends and Fellow Workers,

On May 17, 2004, Baristas at one Starbucks in New York City announced that they had formed a union affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World in order to fight for decent wages, consistent scheduling, sufficient hours, and an end to understaffing in the stores. Immediately, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sought to undermine the workers' solidarity through a campaign of intimidation, threats, retaliation, spying, and at times, outright bribery. The union took some hits: over the years, Starbucks fired over a dozen outspoken union supporters in New York, seeking to destroy the union. But against all odds, six years later our union is strong and growing. Our unique Solidarity Unionism approach, developed through the tenacity, courage, and sacrifice of dozens of union baristas, has enabled us to succeed where much larger unions have failed. We have established a foothold in the industry with the lowest union density in the United States. We now have members across North America, and have established ties with Starbucks workers across the world. -->