On Saturday, July 5, the Philadelphia branch of the Industrial Workers of the World will participate in a global day of action against Starbucks Coffee's union busting activities. Events will take place in New York City, Grand Rapids, MI, and Seville, Spain. Organizers say that coordinated actions across the US, Europe, and Latin America could be the largest ever against the coffee giant. Participants will gather at 9th and South Street at 1pm. Read more:Press Release & Event Info | | | Related Coverage:MediaMouse.Org Report | Starbucks Fires Barista for Union Activity! from Grand Rapids Starbucks Union | Starbucks Stores to Close, Only Tens of Thousands Left from KBCS in Seattle, WA | | | Picture from Lancaster, PA report
Grand Rapids firing comes in the midst of Unfair Labor Practice charges being investigated by the NLRB against Starbucks.
Grand Rapids, MI (06/06/2008)- Starbucks terminated a barista active in the IWW Starbucks Workers Union today as part of its ongoing effort to combat a growing movement of employees pushing for a l
The United Auto Workers gathered near the new MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Ledyard on Saturday to kick off the first of two days of protests against what the union calls an unfair tipping policy and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe's refusal to bargain.
Union members were doing a "visibility" protest, trying to make sure casino customers and others are aware of what they say are unfair labor practices.
On May 1, every port on the West Coast of the United States was shut down to demand an end to the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. The historic May Day walkout by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is the first time ever that an American union has struck against a U.S. war. The union ranks defied the rulings of an arbitrator, who twice ordered them to go to work. They overcame the capitulations of the ILWU leadership, which didn't want the work stoppage in the first place, tried to water it down and cowered before the threats of legal action while waving the flag. The employers' Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) declared the May 1 port shutdown an "illegal strike." But after all the huffing and puffing from the bosses' mouthpieces, the dock workers pointed the way to defeating the imperialist war by mobilizing working-class power. In the end, it was more than a work stoppage. The dock workers' May Day strike against the war was a first step, a show of what it will take to bring down the warmongers in Washington. Their "symbolic" action was felt all the way to Iraq, where dock workers in two ports stopped work in solidarity with the ILWU. But it was only a beginning. What is needed is not only industrial action but a political offensive against the Democrats and Republicans, the partner parties of American imperialism, to build a class-struggle workers party.
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Desi Burnette, Media Mobilizing Project | 04.28.2008
Today in Miami, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and their allies will deliver over 75,000 petitions to Burger King's headquarters. The signatures are a call on the fast-food giant to work with the CIW to eliminate modern-day slavery and human rights abuses from Florida’s fields. The CIW hopes that this delivery will bring Burger King one step closer to the negotiating table for the fair wages and safe working conditions. Ironically, today's petition delivery is happening in the midsts of news that the vice president of Burger King, Steve Grover was directly involved in a smear campaign against the Coalition.