Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

Starbucks

By Serena Sojic-Borne

Activist shouts into microphone as crowd gathers around them. One protestor waves a trans pride flag. One carries a sign that says “Stop the attack on Black people.”

New Orleans, LA – On July 15, at least 13 New Orleanian activists will join thousands to march on the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. This baker’s dozen is a group of leaders and organizers from Black liberation, labor, student and gender liberation movements.

“We are the phantom that haunts them in their sleep”

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By Abbey Lodwig

New Orleans Starbucks workers stand outside newly unionized St. Claude store. | Fight Back! News/staff

New Orleans, LA – On February 7, workers at Starbucks on Saint Claude Street won their union election in a 12 to 4 vote. This is the third Starbucks to unionize in New Orleans. Baristas complain of an unsafe work environment, lack of predictable or sufficient hours, and a workplace that is falling apart.

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By staff

Starbucks workers gather to support unionizing. | Fight Back! News/staff

New Orleans, LA – On January 11, with 90% support, workers at Starbucks on St. Claude filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. The store is located near the French Quarter and serves some tourists and locals.

“How I see it, unionizing my store will allow not only myself, but also my fellow partners to join together and create the ideal workspace for all of us. We've all decided the best way for us to see promising results is to take action into our hands and handle the situation ourselves,” said Julian Missy, an organizer and worker at the store for over a year.

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By J Martel

Panelists lead discussion at labor forum in New Orleans.

New Orleans, LA – On July 1, fifteen people gathered for a panel at the Nora Navra Library to hear report backs from the successful unionization of two local Starbucks coffee stores. The panel also included a report from the frontlines of the UPS-Teamster contract negotiations.

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By staff

Starbucks workers from Appleton, WI stand up and fight back.

Appleton, WI – On April 8, Starbucks workers in Appleton, Wisconsin filed officially for union representation. They will be joining workers from more than 100 Starbucks locations across the country that are taking up the fight against corporate tyranny by exercising their right to collective bargaining, including three in Wisconsin.

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By staff

Colorado Springs, CO – On March 14, Starbucks employees at the Flintridge & Academy Starbucks store in Colorado Springs held a rally to mark their filing for unionization. The workers were joined by community members, local politicians and baristas from other locations.

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By staff

Starbucks workers and supporters rally outside the Oak Creek, WI location.

Oak Creek, WI – On February 17, over 50 people gathered in front of Starbucks in Oak Creek, a suburb of Milwaukee, for an announcement that the workers at that location filed for a union election. Shortly after, it was announced that an additional Wisconsin Starbucks filed for a union election, this one in the tiny community of Plover. The election filing is one of at least 100 across the country where Starbucks workers demanded a union at their workplace. Except for the first few weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Starbucks workers have worked through it all.

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By staff

Tallahassee, FL – On February 9, Starbucks workers and local organizations rallied to announce an effort to unionize at the Starbucks here on Magnolia Drive.

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By staff

Tallahassee, FL – On February 9, Starbucks workers and local organizations rallied to announce an effort to unionize at the Starbucks here on Magnolia Drive.

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By Jacob Muldoon

Students protest treatment of Aramark workers on campus.

Tallahassee, FL – On February 2, around 80 Florida State University (FSU) students, representing FSU Against Aramark, FSU Students for a Democratic Society, FSUDems, and JStreet, marched across campus from Strozier Library to Dirac Library protesting Starbucks working conditions and standing in solidarity with Aramark workers on campus.

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