Wobbling Starbucks (via email-circulated press release):

New York, NY- Starbucks workers here have organized a union with the

Industrial Workers of the World IU/660 and have submitted union cards today to the

NLRB for a certification election. The workers are poised to become the first

Starbucks Baristas union certified in the country. Starbucks Baristas at the 36th

and Madison location in Midtown Manhattan have come together in an effort to

raise themselves out of poverty as well as to achieve respect and dignity on

the job. The workers are calling on Starbucks to obey the law as the election

approaches.



Behind the green aprons and smiles are individuals living in serious

poverty, said Daniel Gross, a worker at the store. Baristas are the cornerstone of

a Starbucks coffee shop, we just deserve better. Starbucks cashes in on a

community friendly image but it certainly doesn't extend to their workers or

coffee farmers. That's why we went Union.



Starbucks is a $15 billion company with over 7,500 locations around the

world, but workers have most emphatically not shared in their success. In New York

City with one of the highest costs of living in the world, Starbucks workers

start at $7.75 an hour and eventually receive raises amounting to merely a few

cents. Starbucks has also developed a scheme whereby all Baristas work on a

part-time basis and are not guaranteed any amount of hours per week thus making

it exceedingly difficult for workers to budget for necessities like rent,

utilities, and food.



I come to work and I work hard, said Maureen Medianero, 23, who has worked

at Starbucks for almost 2 years. ^ÓBut I^Òm still hanging on by a shoe string

not knowing if I can make ends meet to support my daughter. It's frightening.