By JULIE JARGON
Baristas are putting up pressure on Starbucks Corp. to come to terms with 200 unionized workers in Chile who have been on strike for more than two weeks.
Employees who belong to the IWW Starbucks Workers Union kicked off a "global week of action" on Monday in solidarity with their Chilean colleagues by picketing in front of a Starbucks in New York City. The IWW baristas, who are not affiliated with the Chilean workers' union, say union workers will be handing out flyers describing the Chilean situation outside Starbucks stores in Phoenix, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, London and Melbourne, Australia. The IWW is also planning to stage an event in Starbucks's hometown of Seattle this week, but won't yet disclose the nature of it.
Starbucks employees protest in front of the company's cafe in Santiago, Chile, on Monday. Starbucks has been hit with its first strike in Chile.
Workers belonging to Sindicato de Trabajadores de Starbucks Coffee Chile walked out on July 7, marking the first time employees at a company-owned Starbucks have gone on strike. The baristas say they're paid so little that they can't afford lunch. The starting hourly wage for Chilean Starbucks workers is the equivalent of $2.50, an amount that hasn't changed in eight years. The workers at 30 of Starbucks's 31 Chilean stores are pressing for a lunch stipend similar to what Starbucks managers receive and to have the company assume the full cost of their health insurance, among other things.
