Global Day of Action Against Starbucks - Belfast, Dublin and Beyond!

international | worker & community struggles and protests | feature

Tuesday July 08, 2008 23:59

by Jason Brannigan, Krossie, Lisa and 1 of indy.ie

International Solidarity

As part of the Global Day of Action against Starbucks called by the AIT/IWA and the IWW pickets were placed on Starbucks stores in Belfast, Dublin and many other cities worldwide. These were to demand the reinstatement of Monica, a member of the anarcho-syndicalist CNT working in the Starbucks in central Seville, and Cole Dorsey, an IWW member who was fired by Starbucks for organising in their Grand Rapids, Michican, shop.

BELFAST
by Jason Brannigan - Organise! organise ireland at yahoo dot com
PO Box 505, Belfast, BT12 6BQ

Organise! and the WSM picketed Starbucks in Belfast city centre today from 12 to 1 pm. Despite the miserable weather around 12 people joined the picket and leafleted passers by and potential customers outside the coffee shop. At the start of the picket 3 people had gone inside to leaflet customers and staff. There was a very positive response to the picket however one person was falsely accused of assaulting a Starbuck's member of staff after leafleting staff and customers inside.

As part of the Global Day of Action against Starbucks called by the AIT/IWA and IWW Organise! and the WSM picketed Starbucks in Belfast today (5th July) to demand the reinstatement of Monica, a member of the anarcho-syndicalist member working in their central Seville outlet, and Cole Dorsey, an IWW member who was fired by Starbucks for organising in their Grand Rapids, Michican, shop.

Organise! and the WSM picketed Starbucks in Belfast city centre today from 12 to 1 pm. Despite the miserable weather around 12 people joined the picket and leafleted passers by and potential customers outside the coffee shop. At the start of the picket 3 people had gone inside to leaflet customers and staff. There was a very positive response to the picket however one person was falsely accused of assaulting a Starbuck's member of staff after leafleting staff and customers inside.

While Starbucks present themselves as a trendy, ethical corporation when it comes to their own workers they are ruthless union-busters determined to stop their employees organising. Monica was fired on the 24th of April without notice. She had worked in the central Seville branch of Starbucks for a year and a half when her manager suddenly claimed she "created problems with her workmates". She had resistged management when they made people work public holidays without extra pay. She refused to attend work meetings outside working hours where no pay or time in lieu was offered. Her sacking came after she asked about another worker who had ben fired. The store manager had told her on several occassions that she must have nothing to do with unions.

Barely a month later, in Grand Rapids, Michican, USA, Starbucks fired Cole Dorsey on June 6th. Cole had over two years of service and was active in the IWW Starbucks Workers Union.

DUBLIN
by krossie - wsm. www.wsm.ie

Well done folks!

Here's a short report from the Dublin end.

Photos to follow (we even had placards!)

On July 5th 2005 the IWW in Grand Rapids and the CNT in Seville called for a world wide day of action on Starbucks restaurants. We know people have many issues with Starbucks from their flagship role on Capitalist Globalisation to their overpriced cup of froth laughably posing as coffee. This day of action, though, set out not to attack the company per sae. Our aim was to encourage workers within it to get organised and unionised or, at least, to start thinking about it. Specifically we were supporting the call for solidarity for Cole Dorsey fired for organising workers into the IWW in Grand rapids in the USA and Monica: organising for the CNT in Seville Spain.

From 12 pm a small group of us decided to leaflet inside some of the other Dublin Stabucks preliminary to the main demonstration on the one in Dame Street. We started upstairs in BT2 Grafton Street – some leaflets were got into the hands of staff behind the bar – but a BT2 security guard is hot on our heels snaffling and crumpling paper as he goes. No security or management precense at all in Dawson street where we get a more leisurely stroll and distribute a good number of leaflets – staff and customers read with interest. Similarly in a fairly deserted Starbucks in the IFSC.

Finally we get back to Dame Street and do another quick run around inside.
A minute later we are greeted by Irene; district manager of Starbuck’s Dublin. She is icely and formally polite informing us that we are welcome to protest peacefully but not to leaflet inside the premises and to check in any time for refreshments . We decline the offer. Then she turns paranoid asking us if we are recording her
(though we have neither the equipment or the inclination!)– turns back in and is not seen again.

The crowd in Dame Street quickly swells to over 30: with WSM members and many other activists; mostly but not exclusively libertarian. The atmosphere is cheerful through out and people manage to engage with workers on several occasions. Encouraged we head back to Dawson Street and again up to 30 people throng around it; a very strong precense at a quite small entrance.

Overall 650 leaflets distributed by 40 to 50 people over the entire day. Perhaps some seeds were sown and, at least, some of the workers inside might not see anarchists as coming complete with horns and tails.

Starbucks recently announced the closure of 500 restaurants across America with the loss of over 12,000 jobs. As the recession begins to bite there has surely never been a better time to get organised.

GERMANY
by Lisa - FAU-IWA www.fau.org

The FAU-IWA organized information pickets at a total of 40 Starbucks in 16 towns all over Germany (Aachen, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Darmstadt, Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt/Main, Münster, Stuttgart, Hamburg, München, Nuremberg and Wuppertal). The customers reactions were very positive in general, many people not entering or even leaving the Starbucks once they heard about the working conditions and the union busting attempts of Starbucks. There was as well lots of sympathies from many baristas, though some others were inimitated by the presence of their bosses and team leaders. We will see wether Starbucks understands what will happen to them, once they do not re-instate Monica and Cole and stop the repression against other workers and their unions.

Detailed reports (in German language) including photos can be found at here

AND BEYOND!
Coverage of the actions taken all over the globe can be found here and here.

Starbucks Global Day of Action - Belfast picket