Starbucks union: Rev. Barber joins Buffalo workers Monday
Contact: Casey Moore | sbworkersunited@gmail.com | 302-985-1517
Social justice leader Rev. Barber joins news conference Monday to support union organizing by Starbucks workers
Social justice leader Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, will join Starbucks partners in Buffalo, New York, where the national Starbucks Workers United movement began.
Rev. Barber will speak at a news conference Monday to support the workers and discuss Starbucks’ aggressive anti-union campaign. Union rights are included in the demands of the Poor People’s Campaign.
The news conference comes two days before the National Labor Relations Board counts ballots from three more Buffalo stories. It will begin at 11 a.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 21, at 2495 Main St, Buffalo. Proof of vaccination is required for entry, and masks are required. A link to watch the news conference online is below.
The Starbucks Workers United Movement began in late August when 50 Buffalo Starbucks partners (workers) signed a letter to Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson announcing their intentions to unionize. On August 30th, three stores officially filed for union petitions with the NLRB.
Despite Starbucks’ aggressive anti-union campaign against workers, led by President of Starbucks North America Rossann Williams, the Elmwood Starbucks store made history on Dec. 9, 2021, when it became the first unionized corporately owned Starbucks store in the United States.
The Elmwood win sparked union efforts at Starbucks locations across the United States. As of Feb 18, over 90 stores have filed for union petitions across 26 states. Starbucks partners are unionizing in the face of an unprecedented union-busting campaign.
Starbucks has turned stores into training centers, sent 100+ out-of-state managers and corporate representatives into Buffalo to spy, intimidate and threaten workers, and used store managers to wage psychological warfare against union leaders. Most recently, on Feb. 8, Starbucks fired five out of six of the organizing committee members in Memphis, Tennessee.
Starbucks chose to selectively enforce policies that have not previously been consistently enforced, as a pretext to fire union leaders in an attempt to scare their entire workforce.
Starbucks partners around the U.S. are continuing to fight for the right to organize. They have repeatedly called on Starbucks to sign the Fair Election Principles and call on Starbucks to respect the fundamental human right to organize a union and collectively bargain.
Press can also view the event virtually here:
When: Feb 21, 2022 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Reverend Barber & Starbucks Partners
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87435132300
Or One tap mobile :
US: +19292056099,,87435132300# or +13017158592,,87435132300#
Or Telephone:
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Webinar ID: 874 3513 2300
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbovz5U1vS