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 living wage and secure work hours. The barista, Cole Dorsey, was fired after two years of service while he was coordinating a union recruitment drive at Starbucks stores in Grand Rapids. Starbucks' pretext for the illegal anti-union firing was that Dorsey was guilty of some months-old attendance infractions.

"Today I joined the growing number of baristas that Starbucks has fired in its relentless union-busting campaign," said Cole Dorsey. "Starbucks' disrespect for the right to join a union is appalling and absolutely will not stop our efforts to have a voice at work."

The firing comes as a National Labor Relations Board judge is set to rule after a lengthy trial on the retaliatory terminations of three New York City baristas. Even before the firing, the NLRB was investigating whether Starbucks violated a settlement agreement entered into in Grand Rapids over anti-union discrimination. In 2006, Starbucks was forced to re hire two union baristas who had been unlawfully fired for union activity. This latest firing in Grand Rapids signals that reinstalled CEO Howard Schultz will not modify the company's practice of terminating outspoken union baristas to intimidate workers from joining up.

This firing in Grand Rapids is the same tactic Starbucks employed against a union member in Sevilla, Spain. On April 24, Monica was fired from a Starbucks in Sevilla for her activity on behalf of the Confederacion Nacional de Trabajadores (CNT).

In response the CNT in Sevilla, along with the Starbucks Union in Grand Rapids, have announced a Global Day of Action set for July 5. Workers, students, and concerned citizens around the world will be confronting the global coffee giant on that day demanding an end to Starbucks union-busting policies.

DEMAND STARBUCKS STOP UNION-BUSTING!
PARTICIPATE IN THE JULY 5TH GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION!

Contact Grand Rapids Regional Director of Operations to Demand the Re-instatement of Cole in Grand Rapids:
Dennis Hodson: 216 533 6932

uly 1, 2008

Statement of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union on the Announcement of 600 Starbucks Store Closures

"The IWW Starbucks Workers Union is deeply troubled that management's numerous missteps are resulting in more serious hardships for baristas, bussers, and shift supervisors.

To ensure transparency, Starbucks should immediately disclose the locations it intends to close and outline its severance plan. Starbucks and its CEO Howard Schultz must minimize the number of layoffs, assure adequate notice to affected families, and offer severance pay which is fair. Employees and their families deserve to be able to safeguard their futures.

If Starbucks is serious about distinguishing itself from competitors like McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts, Schultz should stop prohibiting full-time status for retail hourly employees and improve a health care plan which insures a lower percentage of workers than Wal-Mart's. And the company should stop wasting millions of dollars on its union-busting lawyers and PR professionals at Akin Gump and Edelman."