Chicago Starbucks Settles Case with Barista Over Anti-Union Termination

http://www.iww.org/en/node/3483

Starbucks Settles Case with Barista Over Anti-Union Termination
Submitted by intexile on Sat, 06/16/2007 - 4:05am.

Starbucks to Pay Undisclosed Amount and Offer Reinstatement

Chicago, IL (06/14/2007)- Starbucks has agreed to reinstate Chicago barista Gloria Sykes and pay her a confidential amount to settle charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board earlier this year. Starbucks fired Sykes after she told her store manager that employees would reach out to the IWW Starbucks Workers Union (SWU) if management did not address age discrimination and work schedule issues. The Starbucks manager responded in clear violation of federal law that any talk of the Union was prohibited and would result in termination. Ms. Sykes, 55, was undeterred and subsequently did join the SWU .

"This settlement is a victory for every barista, older and younger, who are fed up with the lack of guaranteed work hours at Starbucks," said Ms. Sykes. "We have a right to demand a secure work schedule with a union and this settlement proves it." Ms. Sykes was led to speak out at work after incidents of age discrimination including being told that "even 16 year olds" could learn to make coffee drinks quicker than her. Starbucks denied wrongdoing in the out-of-court settlement.



Starbucks, with its battered share price, still faces significant legal scrutiny. On July 9th, the coffee giant is set to go on trial for extensive anti-union violations in New York City. In 2006, Starbucks entered a lengthy settlement agreement with the federal government in the first labor case brought by baristas in the United States.

"The myth of a socially responsible Starbucks is unraveling every day," said Joe Tessone, an SWU member and barista at a Chicago Starbucks. "Given the overwhelming evidence of its illegal anti-union campaign, Starbucks should stop insulting the American people by claiming it respects the right to organize."

Starbucks workers can earn a starting wage as low as $6 or $7 an hour and are prohibited from obtaining full-time status. While the company boasts of its health care offering, Starbucks actually insures a lower percentage of its workforce than Wal-Mart, a company notorious for its unaffordable health care package. Due to understaffing, baristas are often forced to work at an unsafe speed exposing themselves to the risk of repetitive stress injuries and burns.

The IWW Starbucks Workers Union is an organization of employees at the world's largest coffee chain united for dignity on the job and in society. Since the founding of the union in 2004, Starbucks workers have joined at multiple stores in several U.S. states. Pressure from the union against Starbucks has resulted in wage increases and the remedy of a diverse array of grievances from pregnancy discrimination to health and safety violations.