Union to Share Plan to Improve Customer Service at Starbucks Annual Meeting

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20080319223915550

From - starbucksunion.org

Seattle, WA- As shareholders arrive at the Starbucks Annual Meeting today, members of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union and their supporters will greet them with leaflets highlighting the economic hardships faced by workers at the company and offering the workers' perspective on how to fix the recent plunge in its stock price.

"Maintaining a long-term, well-paid workforce is the key to lasting success at Starbucks," said Lucas Carter, a member of the IWW in Seattle. "If workers don't get enough work hours every week and they are struggling to pay the bills, how can management expect them to serve coffee with a smile?"

The union argues that the decline in recent years of the value of Starbucks stock, and of the brand in general, stems from its inability to maintain a highly trained workforce through equitable financial compensation and proper working conditions. For example, to save on labor costs, Starbucks degraded all if its Barista jobs to part-time, low-wage positions. All non-salaried café workers are mandatory part-time employees, meaning that none receive any guaranteed number of work hours per week. Many Baristas at the company also receive a poverty wage, starting at little above the minimum wage in some markets.

Reliable access to health care is also a problem that many employees at Starbucks wrestle with. Workers must maintain a quarterly average of 20+ hours per week to be able to qualify to purchase the company's health care package. According to the company's own figures, Starbucks insures less than 41% of its total workforce including managers, meaning the numbers for Baristas and Shift Supervisors is far lower – by contrast Wal-Mart insures approximately 47%. Starbucks also shares Wal-Mart's animosity towards labor unions.


FULL story at link.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

1. And if all workers don't get enough pay or hours every week

and are struggling to pay bills, how can management expect them to buy their products?