| Starbucks Coffee Purchasing in Ethiopia
By Peter van Schaick 
Photo by Sacramento Bee
September 25, 2007
Statement of the IWW Justice from Bean to Cup Campaign
on Sacramento Bee Investigation of Starbucks Coffee
Purchasing in Ethiopia
"The four month Sacramento Bee investigation of
Starbucks coffee purchasing practices in Ethiopia
exposes the same hypocrisy uncovered by the IWW
Justice from Bean to Cup delegation when we met with
farmers in the birthplace of coffee. While Starbucks
makes extraordinary claims about its commitment to
coffee farmers, the reality of life on the ground for
the farmers and their families is extreme poverty and
malnutrition.
The Starbucks spin machine is misleading consumers
about the working conditions of coffee farmers and
café employees alike. It’s time for Starbucks to stop
the deception and pay a fair price for every coffee
bean that it purchases and respect the right of
baristas to organize."
-Peter van Schaick, member of the IWW
Justice from Bean to Cup delegation to Ethiopia
LINKS:
Starbucks calls its coffee worker-friendly -- but in
Ethiopia, a day's pay is a dollar- Tom Knudson,
Sacramento Bee
Sacramento Bee Video Companion
Starbucks 2006 Corporate Irresponsibility Report
The IWW Justice from Bean to Cup Delegation's findings in addition to information on the plight of cafe employees at Starbucks is detailed in this report
A video from the delegation to Ethiopia is also
online:
Part I
Part II
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Posh Protest
Food workers rally at Pastis
By Amy Zimmer - Metro New York 
Photo by Aharon Rothschild/Metro
September 17, 2007
MEATPACKING DISTRICT. The workers who filed a class action lawsuit yesterday against Wild Edibles, a high-end seafood retail and wholesale company, didn’t hold their press conference at the company’s Long Island City warehouse or one of its three retail locations. Instead, they stood in front of Pastis — Keith McNally’s fashionable French restaurant.
Pastis, the workers say, is one of Wild Edibles’ big customers. They allege Wild Edibles systematically denied overtime pay and, when workers tried to assert their rights, they faced retaliation.
Pedro Hernandez, who cleans and weighs fish and oversees oysters, has worked at the warehouse for nearly a year and earns $450 a week for the 56 hours he puts in.
“They make us work a lot, at least three hours above the eight-hour day,” Henandez said through a translator. “We were told we would get a raise after three months, but that never happened.”
Brandworkers International, a new nonprofit workers’ rights group, along with Industrial Workers of the World IU460-640, organized yesterday’s rally to raise awareness for their campaign to improve conditions for the low-wage jobs held mainly by immigrant workers at warehouses in Brooklyn and Queens.
Workers at 10 city food warehouses have joined the IWW. Four from Wild Edibles who tried to unionize with IU460-640 were fired, workers alleged.
Representatives from Wild Edibles and Pastis declined comment.
Daniel Gross, co-founder of Brandworkers, hoped passers-by got the message.
“Focus on the food chain,” he said. “Consider what’s on your plate. One step before that tuna hits it, workers at Wild Edibles and elsewhere are working in shameful and deplorable conditions.”
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IWW-Starbucks Trial Continues: Come to Court!
By Starbucks Workers Union 
September 10, 2007
Friends:
Come support the Wobbly baristas as they continue their legal battle
with the world's largest coffee chain. While Starbucks' red-baiting
tactics thus far appear ineffective, they are indeed entertaining to watch.
Over the past three years, baristas at Starbucks have created an
independent voice to ensure recognition for their hard work. To secure
its 100% part-time employment scheme, Starbucks has responded with a massive union-busting effort.
Stand in solidarity with the workers as this union-busting operation
is laid bare:
Court Dates- September 12th, 14th and 18-21st
Time: 9:30am-5:00pm
Location: 120 W. 45th St. 14th Floor
Latest Media on the Trial:
Steamed workers taking on Starbucks, Daily News
Starbucks: A Baristas Union?, Business Week
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