Sheffield Food Not Bombs Demonstrates in Solidarity with the IWW at Starbucks, Broomhill
Submitted on Wed, 05/09/2007 - 3:51am
Originally posted by Sheffield Food Not Bombs to uk.indymedia.org on May 8, 2007.
On Saturday 5th May Sheffield Food Not Bombs staged a picket outside the Broomhill branch of Starbucks in solidarity with the IWW’s “Justice from Bean to Cup” campaign:
"Justice from Bean to Cup!" - A Human Rights Campaign in Solidarity with Starbucks Baristas and Coffee Farmers
Despite its attempt to create a socially responsible image, Starbucks’ failure to meaningfully embrace Fair Trade coffee and transparent purchasing has left coffee farmers and their children teetering on the brink of starvation in the Global South.
In Starbucks cafes, baristas are paid a poverty wage and the company insures a lower percentage of employees than Wal-Mart. Starbucks baristas are organizing a union with the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) for a better life on the job in the face of a fierce and unlawful union busting effort by the world's largest coffee chain.
The stall itself ran unexpectedly smoothly. Free coffee, tea, jaffa cakes and crisps were offered as an alternative to the overpriced drinks and food sold by Starbucks. The manager, who not surprisingly failed to appreciate the irony of Food Not Bombs using the same “aggressive marketing” strategy Starbucks uses to force other local coffee shops out of business, demanded the picket leave immediately else the police would be called. However, when the police showed it became clear that they dislike Starbucks’ attitude to employees and humanity in general as much as Food Not Bombs do, allowing the picket to continue. On the whole it was great to see so many members of the public actively interested in the disgraceful role Starbucks plays in union busting and abusing third world developers.