Starbucks - Socially involved image campaign
Oct 28 2008 16:56
Comrades,
This is definitely something to respond to. Apparently there is press material all over the world about "what a socially responsible company" Starbucks is. Why?
Because THEIR WORKERS GIVE A SHIT.
In press material I read in Poland, Starbucks is boasting that over 10,000 of their workers are involved in volunteer work. (I wonder if they counted the IWW or CNT in that? 
)
I'm attaching an example article. There are hundreds of others on the internet.
This kind of shit just does not fly. The people that they are exploiting allow their volunteer work to be used as a corporate marketing ploy. This needs a quick response.
I think going on a leafleting / unionizing mission to New Orleans while this work is going on would be appropriate. Especially if the Scumbucks people have a media crew down there trying to film the nice Scumbucks wage slaves.
Quote:
Starbucks workers help beautify New Orleans
By BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press WriterNEW ORLEANS — Thousands of Starbucks Corp. employees are helping rebuild and beautify New Orleans neighborhoods as the coffee company seeks to distinguish itself during tough economic times as socially and environmentally conscious and more than just a place to buy designer drinks.
The company, which is holding its North American leadership conference in the city, says more than 10,000 store managers and others are working on dozens of projects in what's considered to be one of the largest outpourings of corporate support, in terms of volunteer labor, since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.
The work on Monday came as Starbucks announced its "Shared Planet" goals, focusing on areas from volunteerism to going greener and buying all coffee from producers adhering to strict standards. The goals, which president, chairman and chief executive Howard Schultz called aspirational, are to be achieved by 2015.
Schultz, who was painting houses in the Broadmoor neighborhood, told reporters that the effort builds on what Seattle-based Starbucks has long stood for. Given the tough national economic times, it's important to give price-wary consumers "real value" and more than the coffeehouse experience, he said.
The company is launching "gold cards," with consumer discounts. It's also stressing community involvement among employees and in-house efforts to go greener — moving to reusable or recyclable cups, boosting recycling in stores and reducing water usage, for example.
Starbucks, in a sign of corporate belt-tightening, this summer announced plans to close 600 stores, including 13 in Louisiana.
"I also think that customers have many choices to make about all different types of products and services and a company that they trust, a company that has like-minded values to their own, is usually a company that they're going to support," he said.
Kristin Gisleson Palmer, with Rebuilding Together New Orleans, said Starbucks employees will work on various projects, including 31 houses, planting trees and helping to create an urban garden. She and other volunteer coordinators say it's getting tougher to find people to help meet the still-great need for rebuilding assistance three-plus years after Katrina.
"I've never seen this magnitude from one corporation before, I'll say that, in terms of the sheer numbers," she said.
More like this
- Starbucks Workers Union Expands to Maryland in Spite of Harsh Anti-Union Effort
- Percentage of Starbucks Employees Covered by Company
- Health and Safety Agency Finds Against Starbucks in Michigan
- IWW press release: Global Day of Action Will Protest Starbucks’ Anti-Union Terminations
- Starbucks fires another barista for union activity
http://info.interactivist.net/node/11388
There was also this info a couple of weeks ago about "Optimal Scheduling".
and this: Starbucks Management Conference in New Orleans Hit with Unexpected Union Protest
Submitted by SWU
So I see people are taking lots of action. Still, this volunteer thing is disgusting and should also come under attack.
Starbucks Management Conference in New Orleans Hit with Unexpected Union Protest
Submitted by SWU on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 9:03pm.
Supporters of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union Took the Streets in an Energetic Display of Solidarity
October 27, 2008
New Orleans, LA- Starbucks Coffee Co.'s first national conference for managers held outside of Seattle and the first since the return of Howard Schultz as CEO, was rocked by a determined pro-worker demonstration here yesterday. In the midst of a worsening economic crisis, New Orleans residents rose up to demand respect for the work of Starbucks baristas and coffee farmers who are bearing the brunt of the downturn while company executives continue to rake in millions of dollars.
"We sent a strong message to Starbucks that New Orleans residents are thirsty for workers' human rights all across the country," said Travis Richey, a participant in the spirited demonstration. "Howard Schultz must face the fact that workers have the right to join the IWW Starbucks Workers Union as the company seeks to make baristas' jobs even more precarious."
Starbucks to Require Employee Availability Around the Clock and Cut Workforce in Major National Initiative
The Starbucks Coffee Co. is in the process of an extreme revamping of its workforce policies according to company documents obtained by the Starbucks Workers Union of the Industrial Workers of the World. The initiative, dubbed "Optimal Scheduling", will require employees to make themselves available to work essentially around the clock to obtain so-called full-time status. Even for workers able to make the extraordinary sacrifice to obtain "full-time" status, no work hours are guaranteed- identical to Starbucks' current system of part-time status for all retail hourly workers. In addition, Starbucks will lay off workers who cannot meet minimum availability requirements. As baristas learn of the new program, discontent is rising.
"I've had to make myself available each week from Tuesday to Sunday starting at 4:45am until 11pm in the hopes of possibly getting 32 hours of work but not being guaranteed a single hour," said Liberte Locke, a Starbucks barista in New York and member of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union. "It's impossible for me to get a second job now even though I need one and impossible to have a life outside of work."
Under the new system, baristas who opt for pseudo full-time status have to make themselves available to work 70% of the total hours their store is open during the week. In an example given in the company documents, a store open 115 hours per week requires a barista to be available to work 80.5 hours each week - over double the standard work week. Week-to-week Starbucks can then schedule workers anywhere within that availability. In addition, workers who cannot make themselves available for at least three shifts a week will be fired, absent a "compelling reason" which Starbucks has not defined. Weekend workers must be available for at least 16 hours to avoid termination.
"Starbucks' 'Optimal Scheduling' sacrifices family life on the altar of business flexibility," said Daniel Gross, an organizer with the IWW Starbucks Workers Union and a former barista at the coffee chain. "Once upon a time in America, employees got a work schedule they and their families could count on. The Starbucks and Wal-Marts of the world are doing everything in their power to put an end to that security.
The union vows actions around the country against 'Optimal Scheduling'. Founded in 2004, the IWW Starbucks Workers Union is an organization of over 200 current and former baristas united to win a living wage and secure work hours. Through direct action, advocacy, and legal victories, the union has won important workplace improvements for Starbucks baristas around the country.
Related: Starbucks Looks to Reduce Labor Costs, Wall Street Journal- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122307217095003501.html?mod=googlenews_w...
http://www.StarbucksUnion.org