the ill-tempered cavalier ([info]gillen) wrote,
@ 2006-05-18 08:23:00
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Arise, ye prisoners of caffeination!


(thanks to [info]sabotabby)

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[info]pirat_ponton
2006-05-18 03:38 pm UTC (link)
YES!!

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[info]nitroincognito
2006-05-18 03:40 pm UTC (link)
Good Luck!

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[info]sabotabby
2006-05-18 03:48 pm UTC (link)
Hey, thanks for spreading the word!

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[info]gillen
2006-05-20 03:03 am UTC (link)
Of course, who's going to unionize the Starbucks customers? (thanks to [info]nom_de_grr)

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[info]gillen
2006-05-20 03:16 am UTC (link)
nevermind. you're way ahead of me.

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[info]girlvinyl
2006-05-18 04:57 pm UTC (link)
Awwww, poor little starbucks workers. God knows that steel mills and dangerous mining work is totally comprable with the climate controlled conditions in which they enjoy their free frappacinnos.

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[info]sabotabby
2006-05-18 05:12 pm UTC (link)
Are unionized steel workers in North America really comparable to maquiladora workers? Or loggers, or farm workers—who, at least in Canada, can't even legally join unions? You're going to have a hard time determining which occupation is The Most Screwed Over Ever, but once you do, I guess we shouldn't bother fighting for the rights of anyone else.

It's that sort of divide-and-conquer mentality that has always screwed over the working class.

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[info]m267
2006-05-18 05:28 pm UTC (link)
That was beautiful.

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[info]girlvinyl
2006-05-18 08:15 pm UTC (link)
I love class warfare, yea!

I will revise my statements as such:
Starbucks baristas do not deserve the protections of union.

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[info]sabotabby
2006-05-18 08:33 pm UTC (link)
Why not?

And why are you in a position to make that decision?

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[info]girlvinyl
2006-05-18 08:34 pm UTC (link)
Because they enjoy some of the best working conditions available to middle America.

We are all in a position to make our own decisions - even you.

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[info]sabotabby
2006-05-18 09:07 pm UTC (link)
Annual salary of Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman: $1,176,269.

Average starting wage of a Starbucks barista in New York City: $8.75/h.

Average wage of someone who grows the coffee: $3/day.

If this economic arrangement seems just and fair to you, by all means, enjoy your life and relative comfort and privilege. But don't be surprised if it doesn't satisfy other people, and don't be surprised if the decision they make is to improve the material conditions of their lives rather than simply settle for what you think they deserve.

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[info]gillen
2006-05-19 01:26 pm UTC (link)
::grabs some popcorn and sits back to watch anti-corporate Socialist [info]sabotabby v. pro-corporate Libertarian [info]girlvinyl::

;)

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[info]mvc
2006-05-18 05:26 pm UTC (link)
And it's the Wobblies! That makes me happy!

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[info]dragonblink
2006-05-18 06:15 pm UTC (link)
Wow ... what kind of craptacular Starbuckses are they running in New York?? All the ones I've been in out here, including the two that I worked at, have had good working conditions, decent wages (for entry-level low-skilled retail) and better benefits than any other comparable job -- available at as low as 20 hours per week.

I never would have felt the need to unionize while I was a barista. I really loved that job, and the only real downsides were the occasional clueless managers.

Note to self: Should I find myself jobless in NYC, case the Starbuckses carefully before applying.

(I should also note that the chick in the drawing, while hot, is breaking dress code unless that's a promotional t-shirt.)

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[info]tanyahp
2006-05-18 08:07 pm UTC (link)
A friend of mine had her hand badly scalded on one of the machines. She couldn't even bend her fingers, they were so red and swollen, but there is no time off given for an injury, apparently, if there is the slightest indication the person can still work (ie - she could use her other hand to serve coffee). So, no time off for her. Not sure if this story applies to what's going on, but perhaps if there was a union people wouldn't have to work in spite of the debilitating pain. ::shrugs::

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[info]dragonblink
2006-05-18 08:47 pm UTC (link)
Once again, I'm wondering if the two local S'bucks districts are better than others ... I got carpal tunnel syndrome in my left wrist from working the machine while at Starbucks (before they switched to the Verissmo machines) and I was off on disability for two months. I could do my job one-handed -- and in fact I had, for quite some time -- but instead I got worker's comp.

Your friend had a seriously shittacular manager, and if I were her I'd go up the food chain with as much documentation as possible.

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[info]gillen
2006-05-19 01:23 pm UTC (link)
According to one local Starbucks barista I asked, if you have a nose piercing they not only make you take it out or cover it with a band-aid but also tell customers that ask about the band-aid that it was a scratch or pimple or anything except a policy against nasal jewelry. Yes, even if the customer sees you like that every day for an entire year.

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[info]dragonblink
2006-05-21 04:27 am UTC (link)
Once again, that sounds like a craptacular manager. The dress code does forbid nose piercings (the only visible piercings you're allowed is two in each ear, though it does not say where in each ear) but nowhere have I seen or heard that one should lie to customers regarding it.

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[info]gillen
2006-05-21 09:23 am UTC (link)
But such a strange policy, especially for a company that started in Seattle, where multiple piercings (including nose piercings and/or plugs, eyebrow, lip and even neck - yes, apparently some folks pierce their necks... who knew?), tattoos, scars, 'creative' hairstyles etc are practically de rigeur barista attire.

Sure, once it wasn't java unless it was poured by a woman with a beehive hairdo and a nametag that said 'Alice' but these days if my morning mud isn't served by some twentysomething with entirely too many vowels in their name who is quite clearly into celtic knots, Rilo Kiley, and exploring their personal pain threshhold I am deeply suspect of its authenticity as coffee.

Extra points are awarded if I can distract myself from the maddening enigma of 20 Across by trying to guess at my barista's gender. Alternative coffee simply tastes better.

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[info]towith
2006-05-19 02:24 am UTC (link)
Heaven forfend a minimum responsibility job, comes with minimum wage.

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[info]gillen
2006-05-19 01:16 pm UTC (link)
It depends on your lifestyle, I guess. I wouldn't consider the job of preparing my morning coffee to be "minimum responsibility", but then again I also wouldn't buy my morning coffee at a freakin' Starbucks.

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[info]towith
2006-05-19 11:41 pm UTC (link)
I guess I was coming from the point that trained chimps could do their job, on my last visit to Starbucks I was almost convinced there were.

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[info]masterae
2006-05-19 03:19 am UTC (link)
I, for one, welcome our new Unionized Barista Overlords.

This is fantastic, and really, who cares if they are better off then lots of other people? Let EVERYONE join a union! Mandatory Unionization! Whee!

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[info]gillen
2006-05-19 01:14 pm UTC (link)
The Internationale unites the human race!

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[info]shadowyfigure
2006-05-19 04:46 am UTC (link)
Look at that drawing! Ew!

Why don't these people just get better jobs? I wouldn't eat at Starbucks if you paid me. They're tea is a disgrace to the beverage and they're food is dubiously hydrogenated and God know what else.

It's scary what people will do to have a "cause" in their life.

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[info]gillen
2006-05-19 01:13 pm UTC (link)
] Why don't these people just get better jobs?

Sounds to me like that's what they're trying to do.

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