Stand Up for Sasha McCoy! Mother, Student, Starbucks Barista, IWW Unionist.

Posted Tue, 08/16/2011 - 2:16pm by IWW.org Editor

Last month, Tiffany White,an African American mother of two, and union leader and organizer with the Industrial Workers of the World Starbucks Workers Union, was terminated without justification from a New York Starbucks.

The practice of targeting female union members continues in Nebraska, with recent threats to union organizer Sasha McCoy. McCoy, also an African American mother of two,was recently threatened with termination when she reduced her availability at the 15th and Douglas Starbucks so she could return to school to pursue a B.S. in biology.

McCoy's new schedule meets all of the requirements outlined in the corporate scheduling policy. McCoy also spoke with representatives from Partner Resources, the H.R. branch of the Starbucks Corporation, who informed McCoy that her new availability met the company's requirements.

Despite her efforts to follow proper procedure, McCoy was told by manager Scott Creed that if she did not add an additional 30 minutes to her weekly availability, she would be terminated after four years of service to the Starbucks corporation.

"I feel like I am being targeted right now because I am part of the union," says McCoy. "My commitment to my job was never questioned until I joined the union. I'm a single mother working to put myself through college on my own so I can improve my life for my family. A company that claims to support women in the workplace is threatening to put me out of a job over half an hour. This has nothing to do with my availability and everything to do with my union."

On the 14th of August members of the Industrial Workers of the World Nebraska General Membership Branch confronted Creed with an Unfair Labor Practice charge, alleging intimidation to union members for his threat to fire McCoy. Two months ago, Starbucks settled three Unfair Labor Practice charges regarding anti union practices that had taken place at the 15th and Douglas and 72nd and Dodge Starbucks locations in Omaha.

I.W.W. Food & Retail Workers Union Founding Convention

Posted Sat, 08/13/2011 - 8:21pm by IWW.org Editor

October 21, 22 & 23, 2011 : Portland, Oregon - Hosted by the Portland General Membership Branch of the I.W.W. 

The I.W.W. Food and Retail Workers Union is an organization of workers at every link in the supply chain of food and retail products- from processing facilities to warehouses to restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, strip malls, big box stores, and other retail shops. We have come together to fight for fundamental change in our industries. In the short term, we seek to build power with our coworkers to win improved wages, guaranteed hours, healthcare, and other crucial improvements to our working conditions. In the long term, we aim to establish industrial democracy through worker self-management of production for human needs, rather than capitalist

Workers Win Large Settlement at Supplier to Chinese Restaurants After Hard Fought Campaign: Energetic Worker-Led Campaign Saw Key Customers Drop the Distribution Warehouse Until Workers' Rights Were Respected

Posted Fri, 08/19/2011 - 3:24am by IWW.org Editor

August 18, 2011 - Contact: press (at) brandworkers.org

Queens, NY - Immigrant workers at Pur Pac, a food distribution warehouse supplying many landmark Chinese restaurants, bakeries, and cafes in Chinatown and around the City, have won a major settlement with the company after prevailing in a bitterly contested workplace justice campaign. The comprehensive settlement will return $470,000 in illegally withheld minimum wage and overtime pay and subjects Pur Pac to a binding code of conduct which includes protection for collective activity and compels compliance with all workplace laws including anti-discrimination and health & safety protections. The workers organized with Focus on the Food Chain, a joint campaign from Brandworkers and the IWW which is challenging sweatshop conditions in a sprawling industrial corridor of food processing and distribution warehouses that service New York City markets and restaurants.

"No one who wakes up and goes to work every day should have their wages stolen," said Primo Aguilar, a former worker at Pur Pac and a leading member of the campaign. "I feel proud today that my co-workers and I stood up, got organized, and won. This settlement means a great deal for us and our families but also for our effort with the Focus campaign to win respect for all of New York City's food processing and distribution workers."

Through grassroots advocacy and protest, the workers persuaded key food retail customers of Pur Pac to stop doing business with the company until the dispute was resolved. Pursuant to the settlement, workers' representatives are notifying customers that the dispute has been favorably resolved. Pur Pac's product line includes bulk rice, sugar, cooking oil, chop sticks, and soy sauce. In a previous companion agreement, Pur Pac acknowledged that it was the successor to two predecessor companies, E-Z Supply Corp. and Sunrise Plus Corp., and has recognized the Industrial Workers of the World labor union as the exclusive collective bargaining agent of Pur Pac employees.

‘Unfair Labor Practice’ at the Forest Hill Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream

Posted Thu, 08/18/2011 - 2:12am by IWW.org Editor

An ‘Unfair Labor Practice’ has been filed with the National Labor Relations Board against Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream in Richmond, Virginia for a violation of an employee’s right to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection, as found in Sec. 7. [§ 157.] of the National Labor Relations Act.

On Jun 8, 2011, Holly L., a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), was terminated after sending an email, a common form of communication, to management and staff.  The email addressed Crossroads owner Will Herring’s failure to close and lock up the establishment, forcing employees to wait for his arrival well after the end of their shift. This incident is one in a pattern of disrespectful behavior by Mr. Herring towards employees. While individual attempts were made by employees to address the problem, their failure led to the decision that collective action was the logical step towards resolving the issue.

Our intention is not to suggest a boycott of the establishment; rather, we want to join concerned workers and customers in sending a message to management and other Richmond employers that exploitation will not be tolerated. Members of the Industrial Workers of the World firmly believe that all employers, large and small, must respect the rights of its employees — including the right to an open and safe environment where employee concerns can be addressed without the fear of retaliation. If this simple demand can not be met, the working class will respond as necessary.

IWW Couriers Union Demands Living Wage for Workers at Speedway Delivery and Messenger Service

Posted Tue, 08/16/2011 - 2:47am by x361943

Couriers Launch Campaign to Improve Conditions Industry-Wide

SAN FRANCISCO – Friday, August 12, The IWW Couriers Union Organizing Committee publicly asserts the right of workers at Speedway Delivery and Messenger Service, and throughout the courier industry, to a living wage.

For many years workers in the courier industry have been subjected to shamefully low or wildly fluctuating compensation from employers. Couriers work day in and day out – working in trucks, on bikes, or on foot – in extremely dangerous conditions, under intense pressure to deliver parcels on time. While most couriers fulfill their ominous task dutifully, few find that their compensation fulfills the task of making ends meet. Living hand to mouth is the norm for the people on whose backs our metropolises thrive.

At San Francisco-based Speedway Delivery and Messenger Service, conditions are no better. In fact, they’re much worse. Bought by current owners Lori O’Rourke and Charlie Lutge in the 1980s from former owners who refused to deal with then-emerging unionizing efforts, Speedway has pushed working conditions below even non-union standards. Their couriers endure harassment and disrespectful treatment from management, are extorted for equipment replacements, and to top it off, make an insultingly low commission of about 35% per delivery (most companies pay 50%), or as little as $8.00 an hour. That’s almost 20% less than the prevailing San Francisco minimum wage of $9.92 an hour, which is still far too low for most Bay Area workers to live on.