IWW News

The IWW Nebraska General Membership Branch (GMB) files Unfair Labor Practice charging Starbucks Coffee Company with violating Labor Law.

Starbucks Workers Union (Industrial Workers of the World) contact: Samantha Cole (402)669-8479

Omaha- The Starbucks Workers Union is demanding the reinstatement of former employee and union member Tyler Swain after being unjustly terminated.

On Thursday December 30, 2010 Tyler Swain was terminated from his position as a shift supervisor by the downtown Starbucks store manager Scott Creed for ‘insubordination’.

Co-worker and union member Samantha Cole argues otherwise and says that the Starbucks Coffee Company has had a bulls-eye on Swain since they formed the Nebraska Starbucks Workers Union in August. Cole stated, “Tyler has always been a model employee and takes great pride in his job and his relationships he’s developed with our regular customers. Starbucks has been desperately trying to find a reason to get rid of Tyler since we went public with our union and started organizing our district.” She added that, “Customers have noticed and asked where he is. When I tell them that he was terminated they are surprised and say that he is always so friendly and never would have guessed he would be fired for being a bad employee. However, one customer who comes in on a regular basis and had made negative remarks to us when we went public with our union said ‘that’s what he gets for trying to start a union’”.

The Nebraska Starbucks Workers Union went public with their union and organizing drive on August 6th, 2010 by walking off the job and presenting then District Manager Jennifer Rojas with a list of demands which included increasing wages above poverty rates, an inclement weather plan for the district, consistent scheduling and fully stocked First Aid kit in the store as per OSHA regulations among other things.

Union member Sasha McCoy says that Starbucks has been focused on causing discontent among the workers at 15th and Douglas Starbucks by manufacturing lies about Swain. “Shortly after we presented Jenny with our list of demands and went public with our desire to organize a union, Starbucks has been actively trying to accuse Tyler of a number of unethical charges. The Human Resources Department was even accusing Tyler of sexual harrasment when there was nothing like that going on. These charges were absolutely absurd. They were trying to take the focus off of our demands and desire to organize a union and onto make believe charges against Tyler,” said McCoy.

read more

Monday, January 3rd, the Nebraska Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) sat in on the Open Harvest board of directors meeting. We were given an opportunity to speak toward the end of the meeting and present our list of demands, which are as follows:

1. The reinstatement of employment for Andrew Losh, who was unjustly terminated for failing to meet an unspecified production quota. This quota was continually raised as Andrew’s production increased. His firing was preceded by two write-ups which were contested and ignored by his direct management. These write-ups were unjustified and have been provided as examples of management abuse of employees.

2. Overhaul of the grievance procedure. The current grievance procedure mandates that employees approach the general manager with their grievance. The general manager then decides if the grievance has merit and if so submits it to the grievance committee, i.e. a subset of the board of directors. Not only is this policy extremely intimidating to employees, considering that their grievance may often be with management – which the general manager is a part of, but it essentially gives the general manager veto power over employee grievances. We have asked that a new grievance procedure be implemented, one in which an employee can present their grievance directly to the grievance committee, which should include at least one of their peers – a rank and file worker, elected to the committee by their peers (currently the grievance committee is only four executive board members).

3. Board positions be made available to employees. Currently Open Harvest restricts employees from being on the board of directors – this is not common to all cooperatives, in fact many now allow their employees to take part in this important aspect of running the store. By barring employees from running on the board, a rigid top down hierarchy is ensured, like you would find in any for-profit grocer. As a democratic union, we feel that workers should be allowed to take part in the democratic process of managing and maintaining the coop. Some board members expressed concerns that this may present a conflict of interest. The IWW rebutted this claim by pointing out that the board is comprised of members who have an interest in the store’s prices and at least one supplier is on the board – in these respects there is already a conflict of interest. The best way to manage the coop is to get input from a variety of perspectives: members, consumers, suppliers and workers.

4. A living wage for employees. Open Harvest starts its workers at minimum wage and many employees are kept near this level of pay indefinitely. We find it hypocritical for a store which espouses the ethic of fair trade to pay its workers poverty wages. We think those who work at Open Harvest should also be able to afford to shop there and pay their bills, afford adequate housing, etc. Eating healthy organic food should not be a privilege reserved for the wealthiest in our society. Open Harvest should not simply compare its pay to that of local for-profit businesses. The member owned coop must hold itself to a higher ethical standard.

5. More hours be made available to employees, especially those who want full time benefits. Open Harvest circumvents having to provide non-management employees with benefits by restricting their hours to below full-time (less than 36 hours a week). In contrast management receives a benefits package. We think a progressive coop should certainly be ahead of our nation as it slowly stumbles toward providing health care coverage for all.

A one week deadline was given in which we expect our first demand to be fulfilled and definitive progress to be made on the other four demands. If these demands are not met by January 10, 2011 at 12:00 PM we will escalate our campaign to the next step which may include pickets, boycotts or strikes and the filing of an unfair labor practice with the National Labor Relations Board.

Two of our demands were being addressed at the meeting before we even had a chance to speak. One being coop policy L2 which pertains to treatment of staff, included in L2 is the absurd grievance policy; the other being policy L3 which pertains to pay and benefits of staff.

Due to our efforts, the grievance policy was addressed and ruled by the board to not be in compliance with policy L2, which states that employees must receive a fair and thorough review. They agreed that it was indeed intimidating to require approaching the general manager about grievances.

Unfortunately the board ruled that employee compensation was compliant with their policy L3, as that policy dictates that Open Harvest’s employee pay should be comparable to other local area grocers, such as Trader Joe’s, Russ’s Market, Super Saver, etc. Obviously this neglects the fact that Open Harvest is fundamentally different from these for-profit businesses. As a member-owned coop, it does not operate solely to make profits and is also held to higher standard of ethics by its member owners and patrons. The board did state however, that it is planning to review L3 next month and there was some support for holding Open Harvest to a higher standard. We are hoping the pressure we have put on them will expedite this process and get the employees a livable wage as soon as possible.

read more

In the midst of organizing in a southwest Oklahoma casino, we were hit hard with the sudden death of a fellow worker to lung cancer. Colin "Corky" Brous. Corky was beloved friend, father and fellow worker. He was for the union 100% and helped put a lot of good ideas on the table. Corky defended fellow workers and stood tall in the face of management. His presence, dedication and ideas to bring solidarity to our shop floor will remain in our hearts and minds forever.

read more

Headlines:

• Georgia Prisoners Organize Largest Prison Strike In U.S. History
• Starbucks Baristas Win Equal Pay For MLK Day
• IWW Joins BDS Movement

Features:

• Labor Strikes Against Global Austerity Engulf Europe
• Introducing A Feminism For Wobbly Men
• Forever Young: Staughton Lynd At 81

Download a free PDF copy of this issue.

read more

Some of you may have heard the hubbub about the recent firing of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) member, Andrew Losh, from Open Harvest Cooperative Grocery. Losh was reportedly fired for not meeting an unspecified work quota that was continually raised as his production level did. He also reported several instances of worker mistreatment by the management. His firing and the subsequent campaign being waged by the IWW to have his job re-instated has highlighted some incongruencies in the practices and overall ethos of Open Harvest.

In their mission statement Open Harvest claims to stand for a number of progressive values: sustainable agriculture, equal opportunity employment, and support of local producers. Conspicuously absent from this litany of values is a dedication to providing a livable wage and benefits to workers, workplace democracy and other worker rights issues. As many progressives will agree, democracy is a fundamental value; democratic management mustn’t be limited to the political sphere, it should extend to all arenas of social life including the workplace. Judging from the practices of Open Harvest this is not a value they share. In fact, Open Harvest does not allow workers to have a voice in the workplace or allow them to be on the board of directors, thus ensuring a top-down hierarchy in the work environment that you would expect to find in any mainstream grocery store; this is not typical of cooperative grocers. Another value I would suspect many patrons and members hold is the belief that all workers should receive benefits and a livable wage. Again, Open Harvest does not seem to be dedicated to this value. The average entry-level wage for workers at Open Harvest is the nation’s minimum allowed: $7.25 per hour (via secret worker poll) and Open Harvest circumvents having to provide benefits by making sure that all non-management employees work under what is designated to be “full time”. To further illustrate the situation of inequality it should be pointed out that the Open Harvest management does receive benefits.

read more

Jimmy Johns Workers Union (Industrial Workers of the World) Contact: Micah Buckley-Farlee, 612-845-9290

MINNEAPOLIS- Jimmy John's workers will call on Minneapolis franchise owners Mike and Rob Mulligan today to honor the spirit of the season by offering holiday pay to their employees on federal and major religious holidays. Workers plan to ask customers to sign 'Holiday Cards' asking the Mulligans to open their hearts and their wallets for workers who will spend Christmas Eve, New Year's Day, and other holidays selling sandwiches rather than enjoying the company of their families.

Although time and half pay on holidays is a standard benefit in almost all workplaces, Jimmy John’s falls short of industry standards by paying most workers minimum wage to work through the holidays.

“The Mulligans expect us to come in to work for minimum wage on Christmas Eve and New Year's Day instead of spending time with our families. It's not like time and a half is even that much money when you are making $7.25 an hour. This is really about respect. It feels like we're working for Scrooge,” said Brittany Koppy, a worker at the Dinkytown Jimmy John's.

For bicycle delivery drivers, the pressure to work through the holiday season carries additional risk.

“Everyone is stressed during the this time of year and the roads are brutal. I fell three times and injured myself while working on Christmas Eve last year,” said Micah Buckley-Farlee, a bicycle delivery driver at the Dinkytown store, adding, “Holiday pay is an issue of both safety and respect.”

read more

On December 18th, 2010, members of the Industrial Workers of the World 
(IWW) and community supporters walked into the Open Harvest Natural Foods Cooperative Grocery’and presented management with a petition signed by supporters 
and a letter demanding that IWW baker Andrew Losh be reinstated with 
back wages for time missed.

“I love working at Open Harvest and I support their goals of providing 
the community with sustainable and organic food,” Andrew Losh stated. 
“I get along with my coworkers and enjoy interacting with all the 
great customers that shop there on a regular basis,” he continued. 
“But it seems as if the relationships between the management and the 
employees have gone downhill lately.”

Losh was fired by his manager, Nancy Sauer, on December 3rd for not 
maintaining an unspecified work pace. According to Losh, Sauer has a 
history of treating employees unfairly.

On October 20th, 2010, Losh took a shift off. Despite giving notice 
a month in advance, posting a request for a co-worker to take the 
hours, and ultimately getting oral approval from his manager, Losh 
was written up immediately upon return for not giving prior proper 
notice. Losh contested this with his manager and a co-worker who 
witnessed the approval verified his account. Yet this warning remained 
in his file.

Community supporter and Open Harvest customer Jason Nord explained, “I 
support Andrew's demand to be reinstated. I think it's important that 
Open Harvest stay consistent with the values of an organic grocery 
consumer co-op and not treat their employees in the same fashion any 
other retail store does.”

According to a current employee at Open Harvest, who asked not to be 
named out of fear of retaliation by management, “I feel like a large 
part of the management here doesn't really respect us (the 
employees).”

read more

By Bill Reed, December 15, 2010

Perhaps you have heard about the Flaum Appetizing company cheating their employees out of large amounts of overtime pay and firing the workers for joining the IWW. Perhaps you were leafleting or picketing at supermarkets last summer or last spring to support the workers and get customers to boycott Sonny and Joe’s hummus. Perhaps you were in court or read about the National Labor Relations Board ruling against the owner.

The owner has simply refused to obey the federal laws including the NLRB ruling.

The Flaum company has been treating their staff badly and breaking the federal labor laws for a long time. This is business as usual in New York - and many parts of the U.S.

These workers have been standing up for their human rights. This shows that they are stronger and smarter than a lot of people who get cheated and unjustly fired. Lots of people just take it and move on with their lives. Look for a new employer. Hope that they are not repeating the situation.

When the labor union movement grew in the U.S., or anywhere, it was because labor united. People have to band together and try some ways to demand and get better treatment. It is just that simple. Sure, it is complicated in many ways, but the solid rock bottom basic truth of the matter is that people need to unite together and do something with as many of the other regular working people/taxed consumers as possible. We need to stick together to somehow force the wealthy powerful owners of the businesses and the government to stop their wicked ways.

The government is not normally enforcing laws when the wealthy break them. The law tricks us and deceives us. The rich - they have no legal obligations. We will always have some problems in our lives. If your problem is with an employer who does something wrong or even illegal – I’ve heard owners and managers tell my coworkers, “What are you gonna do? Call a cop?” We’ve got to help each other.

read more

Emergency Action! Protest To Show Solidarity With Striking Georgia State Inmates!

Friday December 17, 2010
11:30am - 1:00pm
Richmond, Virginia Courthouse
701 E. Broad St.

To endorse this action please visit:
[ https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&pli=1&formkey=dHVBcXNrOFBIUmExM19TMVN4Z2daOEE6MQ#gid=0 ]

“A threat to justice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.” - Martin Luther King Jr

read more

Webb wasn't at his office, but some good coverage was had. The Richmond IWW including fellow worker Andrew Ragland had good things to leave behind for Webb in this article. Check out the video here:

[ http://www.wtvr.com/videobeta/b2341456-ccfb-406c-b0b8-b847dbe916e1/News/Protest-At-Senator-Webb-s-Richmond-Office ]

Protestors- Webb Holding Everyday Americans 'Hostage'

WTVR Channel 6 News - Sam Brock Anchor

read more