So it seems that the local Starbucks– the one just across the alley from my house– has unionized:
Starbucks workers add shot of unionizing | Chicago Tribune
Just ahead of Labor Day, baristas at the Starbucks in Logan Square told management that they wanted to be represented by the IWW. A veteran of battles that once made the union movement a major force in American life, the IWW has been largely moribund recently.
Starbucks’ management was ready for the faceoff, which occurred during a periodic meeting of employees and managers at the giant coffee merchant’s store at 2759 W. Logan Blvd., some workers reported. Corporate honchos would not accept employee demands and handed out copies of the preamble to the IWW’s constitution in an effort to discredit the union.
I find this story a little funny. I am a big Starbucks customer, and give them a lot of money each year. In the early-mid 90s, I was a vocal supporter of them in the face of the “Their Ruining Mom and Pop Coffeehouses!” cry. I used to live near the Western stop on the Brown Line, and there was a mom-and-pop coffee place right across the street from the entrance for a while. It took circa 8 minutes to get a cup of coffee. They often ran out. Of coffee. At a coffee house. In the morning. Next to a train station.
So Starbucks, with their efficiency, friendliness, cleanliness, and strong coffee, convinced me to give them my cash.
It was a sad day when I moved here and saw a Starbucks already a 1/2 block away. I was used to Starbucks following me into neighborhoods, not the other way around. I became sadder after I went into the place a few times, and found the place to be small, cramped, and– most odd– full of really uptight baristas. Often downright sarcastic and mean. Condescending.
I’ve probably been to 100 Starbucks stores. I’ve had the exact same pleasant experience in the other 99. This one– always gnarly.
Glory, glory to the U.S. labor movement!