A small but spirited group of nine demonstrators gathered at the Starbucks on 9th and South, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. today, harmonizing on songs including "Solidarity Forever" and "The Internationale," distributing leaflets, holding signs, and chanting slogans like, "What's disgusting? Union busting! What's outrageous? Starbucks wages!" We were met with a glad response from passersby, with whom engaged in many impromptu conversations discussing Starbucks reprisals against workers in Grand Rapids, New York, and Seville, as well as Starbucks Workers Union gains in Chicago and New York. Two Starbucks employees came out and told us, "You can't be here! You can't be doing this! You are so ignorant, you don't know the first thing about this company! You'd better leave or I'm going to do something about it! We'll just see what the authorities say about this!" Although police were called, the demonstrators were engaging in no illegal activities, and no arrests were made. A sign was posted on the door: "We (heart) our jobs. -Starbucks crew." So true. There is no greater impetus to love one's job than the knowledge that any word against it will be met with reprisals.

On an unrelated note, we also met a group of students who are passing through Philadelphia on a 95-day walk from Miami to Boston in order to raise awareness about sexual violence. Their website is http://eastcoastwalkers.wordpress.com/

For more information on what's been going on at Starbucks, and recent decisions against Starbucks in California courts as well as by the ILRB, see http://www.starbucksunion.org/