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Speaker 1: Good morning, peeps, and welcome to WOKF Daily with me

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Speaker 1: your girl Danielle Moody recording from the Home Bunker, Folks,

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Speaker 1: So it is official. Senator Tim Scott has decided to

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Speaker 1: throw his hat into the ring and announce his run

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Speaker 1: for the presidency. And what does he say, as the

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Speaker 1: lone black Republican senator That racism doesn't exist. And anyone

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Speaker 1: who tells you that America is a racist country is

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Speaker 1: lying to you or just maybe has eyes and ears.

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Speaker 1: We have watched and seen as hate crimes in this

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Speaker 1: country have skyrocketed. We have seen how racial incidents have

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Speaker 1: been on the rise. We have witnessed reports from our

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Speaker 1: very own intelligence officers who tell us that white domestic

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Speaker 1: terrorism is the threat to our democracy and not foreign interference.

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Speaker 1: And so given all of that information, not to mention

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Speaker 1: the erasure of black history that we are seeing in

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Speaker 1: states like Florida, the gun violence and mass shootings and

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Speaker 1: police killings that we see, the lynching that just occurred

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Speaker 1: in New York City by a white man against a

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Speaker 1: black unhoused man. I mean, give me a fucking break,

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Speaker 1: like I get it, Tim Scott, you should be proud

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Speaker 1: of how high you've been able to rise in your

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Speaker 1: own career given all of the realities that black people

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Speaker 1: in this country live with, and to point those things

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Speaker 1: out is not to live in a state of grievance.

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Speaker 1: It's to live in the state of reality, right, and

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Speaker 1: not this fallacy that oh you too. If you just

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Speaker 1: pretend that racism doesn't exist, and that your party is

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Speaker 1: not the perpetuator of said racism and racist violence in

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Speaker 1: this country, then all will be well, well, we can't

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Speaker 1: all afford to live in the fantasy that Tam Scott

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Speaker 1: announced in his speech this past week, but you know,

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Speaker 1: bravo to him for trying. You know, folks, later this

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Speaker 1: week we are also supposed to hear Ron death Santis'

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Speaker 1: announcement unless he decides to continue to push that off

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Speaker 1: as well. And the man is as charismatic as I

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Speaker 1: would assume a wet noodle. But Alisa, wet noodle can

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Speaker 1: give you some type of stickiness in grit ron DeSantis

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Speaker 1: gives you nothing. He fades on the national stage, and

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Speaker 1: while he continues to legislate hate in Florida to all

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Speaker 1: of the applause of his Republican sickophants, what he is

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Speaker 1: selling in Florida is not going to be purchased by

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Speaker 1: the American people nationwide. Speaking of which Gavin Newsom, governor

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Speaker 1: of California, has come out and has begun to point

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Speaker 1: the finger and ask for the records from publishers in

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Speaker 1: this country who publish the textbooks because they are contorting

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Speaker 1: themselves to follow Ron DeSantis' lead. And the reality here, folks,

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Speaker 1: is that publishers only publish one book. So if you think,

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Speaker 1: just because you don't live in Florida or in Texas,

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Speaker 1: that your kids are going to be receiving the quality

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Speaker 1: education that they need, think again. And I would hope

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Speaker 1: that what Gavin Newsom is doing that maybe our own

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Speaker 1: governor here in New York, Governor Hokeel, would maybe want

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Speaker 1: to step in, being as how she presides over the

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Speaker 1: largest public school system in the entire fucking country with

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Speaker 1: over a million kids. So if capitalism really does rule

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Speaker 1: the day, then maybe the two most populous states with

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Speaker 1: the largest public school systems should start to bring these

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Speaker 1: publishers to fucking tasks on what it is that they

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Speaker 1: are choosing to print and not to print, and let

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Speaker 1: Florida flip the bill on their own version of American

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Speaker 1: history and let that money come out of their state's pocket. Right.

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Speaker 1: Speaking of things coming out of folks pockets, Coming up next,

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Speaker 1: my conversation with Starbucks worker and member of the Starbucks

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Speaker 1: Union Michelle Eisen. We have a really great and frank

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Speaker 1: conversation about what has happened to Starbucks. This company used

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Speaker 1: to be revered as the new way to treat workers,

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Speaker 1: referring to their workers as partners, giving them, you know,

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Speaker 1: college credits and you know benefits and all of these things.

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Speaker 1: But as Starbucks began to take over the country, they

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Speaker 1: started to focus less on employee satisfaction and employee pay

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Speaker 1: in compensation and started to focus more on their shareholders

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Speaker 1: and CEOs. And so we sit down with Michelle Eisen,

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Speaker 1: who brings our attention to the ongoing legal battles and

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Speaker 1: unionization that is happening at Starbucks stores across the country.

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Speaker 1: That conversation is coming up next, folks. I am very

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Speaker 1: happy to welcome to WOKF Daily for the very first time.

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Speaker 1: Michelle Eisen, who is an organizer for Starbucks Workers United,

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Speaker 1: a barista in Buffalo, New York, and has been an

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Speaker 1: advocate on the way in which Starbucks workers have united

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Speaker 1: across the country to unionize, and you know it was funny.

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Speaker 1: I went to your Twitter, Michelle, and I saw one

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Speaker 1: of your pinned tweets from twenty twenty two from last

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Speaker 1: year that said that Starbucks like happy anniversary to the

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Speaker 1: fact that you went from zero unions to now. I

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Speaker 1: just saw in a recent article three hundred stores across

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Speaker 1: the country are now unionized. So I just wanted to

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Speaker 1: give you an opper tunity to open up and speak

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Speaker 1: about how much things have shifted and how quickly they

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Speaker 1: have shifted because of Starbucks workers united.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely. I think actually as of today, we're at three

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Speaker 2: hundred and twelve, which is a pretty cool number.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so.

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Speaker 2: A year and a half ago, a little over a

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Speaker 2: year and a half ago, there were zero unionized Starbucks

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Speaker 2: in the US, and then you know, as of today

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Speaker 2: what I just said, three hundred and twelve, and that

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Speaker 2: is a result of workers, in this case, Starbucks workers

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Speaker 2: acknowledging their worth, acknowledging what their labor is worth to

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Speaker 2: this multi billion dollar multinational corporation, and standing up and

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Speaker 2: demanding better, you know, demanding better from a company that

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Speaker 2: not only states that they are a better company, but

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Speaker 2: has the resources. If any company in the world has

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Speaker 2: the resources to pay their workers fairly and improve working conditions,

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Speaker 2: it's a company like Starbucks. And what you're seeing on

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Speaker 2: the CUSPO this you know, global pandemic, where Starbucks workers were,

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Speaker 2: you know, on the front lines. We were Starbucks stayed open,

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Speaker 2: we were working customer facing positions for the entirety of

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Speaker 2: the pandemic in you know, pretty deplorable conditions in some cases,

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Speaker 2: for a company that could have afforded to take care

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Speaker 2: of us better and just simply did not. And the

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Speaker 2: result is what you're seeing. You're seeing workers saying, hey,

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Speaker 2: something's not adding up. You know, this is a company

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Speaker 2: that is boasting record breaking profits in the midst of

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Speaker 2: a global pandemic. Not just profits, but record breaking profits.

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Speaker 2: And you've got a workforce that can't afford to pay

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Speaker 2: their rent and put groceries in their fridge with the

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Speaker 2: same paycheck. That's not adding up. And so what you're

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Speaker 2: seeing right now is workers acknowledging that and realizing that

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Speaker 2: their labor is incredibly valuable it is the company, and

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Speaker 2: demanding that Starbucks show up and do better by us.

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Speaker 1: You know, It's so interesting and I think for a

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Speaker 1: lot of people that have been following the story as

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Speaker 1: it has been developing over the last year and a half,

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Speaker 1: is that you know Howard Schultz, the former CEO, had

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Speaker 1: been hailed, you know for many many years as you know,

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Speaker 1: the conscientious CEO as the one that referred to the

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Speaker 1: employees of Starbucks as quote unquote partners, right, somebody that

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Speaker 1: was saying, oh, well, we'll give you credits for college

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Speaker 1: and we'll do these things. And so I want you

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Speaker 1: to talk about how the public narrative of who Starbucks

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Speaker 1: created its image to be and what the actuality was

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Speaker 1: of those workers on the ground that many Americans, millly,

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Speaker 1: tens and millions of Americans interfaced with on a daily basis.

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Speaker 2: Sure, so when Starbucks came out with all of these

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Speaker 2: great benefits, I think this was the early nineties. I'm

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Speaker 2: sure somebody will fact check for me, but that sounds

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Speaker 2: about right. It was groundbreaking. You know, it was one

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Speaker 2: of the first companies to offer the benefits packages that

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Speaker 2: Starbucks offered in the food service industry, which is where

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Speaker 2: we you know, the category we fall into. And you know,

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Speaker 2: they were one of the first to offer things like benefits,

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Speaker 2: eligibility for part time workers, which is where I come in.

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Speaker 2: You know, I'm a production stage manager by trade. You know,

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Speaker 2: a job and the arts in this country rarely comes

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Speaker 2: with health benefits, and so I needed something that I

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Speaker 2: could work part time that would supplement my income and

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Speaker 2: allow me to partake in health benefits. That's the whole

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Speaker 2: reason I came to the company, you know, thirteen years

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Speaker 2: ago almost And at that point, I think that they

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Speaker 2: were the company that they professed to be, you know,

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Speaker 2: or they worked really hard to be that company. They

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Speaker 2: wanted to have a reputation for taking care of their workers.

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Speaker 2: They wanted to have a reputation for caring about their

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Speaker 2: communities and caring about the environment. But things started to slip.

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Speaker 2: You know, Greed becomes a huge factor. Capitalism is what

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Speaker 2: it is, and you know, all of a sudden, they're

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Speaker 2: really answering more to their shareholders than they are to

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Speaker 2: their workforce. And that's what I saw as a worker.

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Speaker 2: As a worker for over a decade, I saw these

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Speaker 2: things that brought me to the company start to be

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Speaker 2: slowly pulled away from the workers. You know, I saw

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Speaker 2: my benefits packages they decreased in coverage and my cost

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Speaker 2: increased for me. The kicker was twenty eighteen, so we're

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Speaker 2: pre pandemic right. Twenty eighteen, I broke my ankle. Now

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Speaker 2: I've been working for the company for eight years at

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Speaker 2: this point, I've been paying into my benefits the entire time.

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Speaker 2: My benefits were so lackluster that I ended up paying

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Speaker 2: for this entire angle break out of my pocket. You know,

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Speaker 2: I had to pay out of my pocket with health

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Speaker 2: insurance through this company. That's where I started questioning, kind

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Speaker 2: of what a what am I still doing here? The

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Speaker 2: only reason I came here is for these benefits, and

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Speaker 2: b what is happening? What is happening to this company?

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Speaker 2: Why are these changes shifting? So what you're seeing as

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Speaker 2: a company that's been able to ride out this reputation

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Speaker 2: when there's not really anything to back it up anymore.

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Speaker 2: And I think that's what the public really needs to see.

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Speaker 2: What you are hearing. What you hear about Starbucks, the

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Speaker 2: public narrative, the narrative that they want you to all

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Speaker 2: believe it Maybe was the company at one point, but

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Speaker 2: lots of changes have happened. I just stopped into a

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Speaker 2: store just this morning where I had contact with a

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Speaker 2: worker from the very first store that I started at

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Speaker 2: and she's been with the company now, you know, eleven years.

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Speaker 3: And I said, hey, how are things going.

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Speaker 2: This is also a unionized store, by the way, and

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Speaker 2: it's been really rough for us at these unionized stores.

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Speaker 2: It's been rough in general, but the union workers are

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Speaker 2: really taking a smack from this company. And I said, hey,

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Speaker 2: you know, how how are you How's it going? And

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Speaker 2: she said, you know, it's it's ups and downs and

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Speaker 2: I said, yeah, I know, and she goes, it's just

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Speaker 2: not the company it used to be, and I said, no,

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Speaker 2: it's not the company used to be. And what you're

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Speaker 2: seeing our workers like me recognizing that and saying, hey,

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Speaker 2: can we help you get it back? Can we help

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Speaker 2: you get your mission back on track? Can we help

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Speaker 2: you get back to the place you were when people

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Speaker 2: were seeking Starbucks out because it was a better company.

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Speaker 2: And that's what I think I'd like people to realize.

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Speaker 2: We're not doing this because we hate Starbucks. We're doing

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Speaker 2: this because we recognize what the company used to be

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Speaker 2: and we want to get it back to that place.

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Speaker 2: We want to get it back on track.

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Speaker 1: You know, you mentioned greed, which is you know, the

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Speaker 1: kind of undertone of the demise of most companies right

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Speaker 1: when they divest from their employees as a way to

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Speaker 1: invest in their shareholders and their CEOs. And we see

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Speaker 1: this time and time again. It's nothing that is new.

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Speaker 1: I think that for a while in this country, unions

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Speaker 1: had been demonized.

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Speaker 3: Right.

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Speaker 1: The unions came out of a place because people were

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Speaker 1: dying in factories in the twentieth century, and they were

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Speaker 1: and child children were being employed as laborers, which many

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Speaker 1: in the South are trying to do again. And you

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Speaker 1: were seeing all of the ways in which workers were

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Speaker 1: being taken advantage of by these major companies and they

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Speaker 1: had no recourse. So the birth of unions, what right,

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Speaker 1: was to give workers the ability to collective bargain, to

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Speaker 1: be able to fight for conditions that were safe, that

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Speaker 1: were clean, and pay that allowed them to work with dignity.

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Speaker 1: And so I want you to be able to talk

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Speaker 1: to you know this kind of political divide with regard

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Speaker 1: to the purpose and the place of unions, because you know,

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Speaker 1: when I listened recently as Howard Schultz was was testifying,

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Speaker 1: you would think that he was like a staunch Republican,

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Speaker 1: and I was like blown away by the way that

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Speaker 1: he was demonizing and saying that unions and unionizing is

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Speaker 1: the problem with business in America. So I want to

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Speaker 1: get your response to that.

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Speaker 2: It's really quite fascinating because you would think that this

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Speaker 2: is something that would actually cross party lines. You know,

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Speaker 2: this is something that a lot of times when you're

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Speaker 2: looking at you know, unions, you know, let's say based

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Speaker 2: in the South or you know, somewhere in the Midwest

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Speaker 2: or Middle America, a lot of their workforce, I would say,

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Speaker 2: would fall to the side, you know, of the Republicans.

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Speaker 2: They would be you know, they kind of they're you know,

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Speaker 2: working class, and you know, you know, you got the

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Speaker 2: American flag on their tailgate and next to their union strong.

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Speaker 3: I mean, it's it really should.

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Speaker 2: Cross party lines when you're dealing with worker rights and

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Speaker 2: you know, the overall workforce.

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Speaker 3: So it was interesting.

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Speaker 2: I was in the room during that testimony, and you

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Speaker 2: really would see, you know, you had the Democrats on

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Speaker 2: the committee asking some really tough questions. You know, why

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Speaker 2: are you treating your workers like this? Why are you

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Speaker 2: firing union supporters, Why are you not coming to the

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Speaker 2: bargaining table and negotiating a fair contract? And you know,

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Speaker 2: they could have been a little tougher but there were

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Speaker 2: some good questions ask and then you had the Republicans

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Speaker 2: on the committee kind of praising him for you know,

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Speaker 2: and patting him on the back, and I'm and I'm like,

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Speaker 2: this can't possibly be what this man actually wants his

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Speaker 2: legacy to be. This can't you know, like Okay, the

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Speaker 2: general confusion of sitting in that room and seeing how

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Speaker 2: richolds who. You know, this is a man that right

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Speaker 2: after the twenty sixteen election addressed all of his workers

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Speaker 2: basically saying, listen, what happened yesterday is not what any

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Speaker 2: of us wanted. This is not the person we wanted

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Speaker 2: elected to run our country. And I want you to

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Speaker 2: know that. You know, as a company, we're going to

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Speaker 2: protect you. We're going to take care of you know,

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Speaker 2: our LGBTQ partners, we're going to take care of our

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Speaker 2: you know, we're going to make sure that, no matter

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Speaker 2: who's running the country, that this company takes care of you.

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Speaker 2: And I remember thinking, Wow, this is this is a

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Speaker 2: good company to work for. This is a man who

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Speaker 2: who is saying, doesn't matter what where the direction this

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Speaker 2: country is going, and we're going to make sure as

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Speaker 2: long as you work for this company that you're taking

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Speaker 2: care of that is not the man I saw presenting

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Speaker 2: himself at this hearing.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, just a few months ago, it.

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Speaker 2: Was just complete night and day. It is kind of

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Speaker 2: fascinating to see that there's any argument when it comes

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Speaker 2: to workers saying, hey, don't you think I should you know,

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Speaker 2: not have to fear for my life when I go

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Speaker 2: into to work every day. Don't you think I should

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Speaker 2: be able to work forty hours a week for any company,

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Speaker 2: but certainly for a company like Starbucks and be able

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Speaker 2: to pay my bills on that salary and have a

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Speaker 2: family on that salary, and you know, and the fact

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Speaker 2: that anyone can stand up and say no, you don't

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Speaker 2: deserve that.

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Speaker 3: You know.

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Speaker 2: Part of it is, I think this crazy mentality that

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Speaker 2: just exists in general in the service industry, but is

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Speaker 2: very very very pervasive in this country, which is that

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Speaker 2: these are jobs that don't deserve these things. You know,

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Speaker 2: if you find yourself working at McDonald's or working at

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Speaker 2: a Starbucks, you don't deserve respect, and you definitely don't

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Speaker 2: deserve fair wages, and you don't deserve safe working conditions

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Speaker 2: because you must have done something in your life that

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Speaker 2: landed you in this job. You know, and maybe you

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Speaker 2: should have done better, or maybe you should go out

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Speaker 2: and find something better. And what we're saying is why

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Speaker 2: why does any job come does Every job should come

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Speaker 2: with respect. Every worker should go into their place of employment,

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Speaker 2: no matter what it is, and feel like they are

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Speaker 2: worth something. And to hear people say you don't deserve

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Speaker 2: that because you know, you get up and put on

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Speaker 2: a green apron every day and make lattes, it's kind

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Speaker 2: of mind boggling to me because these are not starter jobs.

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Speaker 2: There are millions of workers in the service industry and

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Speaker 2: that's literally their income. That's how they make their living,

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Speaker 2: and that's how they take care of themselves and their families.

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Speaker 2: And it's insane to me that people just think those

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Speaker 2: workers are replaceable, you know, like a group of fifteen

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Speaker 2: year olds can't run any business, and nor should they

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Speaker 2: be expected to their children. There have to be seasoned

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Speaker 2: workers in there that are, you know, running that place

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Speaker 2: and taking people under their wing and training people. And

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Speaker 2: it's just it's really infuriating to you know, we're just

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Speaker 2: told to accept that this is what it is if

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Speaker 2: you happen to work in the service industry.

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Speaker 1: You know, what I think is really interesting too, because

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Speaker 1: I don't know if it is a sense of like

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Speaker 1: deep ignorance combined with the nostalgia, but I feel like

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Speaker 1: the pushback and particularly around raising the minimum wage, comes

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Speaker 1: from this belief that service jobs in particular, or low

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Speaker 1: or lower wage jobs are ones that are held by kids,

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Speaker 1: and so, oh, you're being supported by your parents and

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Speaker 1: this is just your side gig to go and buy

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Speaker 1: an xbox or go and like, you know, hang out

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Speaker 1: with your friends and so in it. And I feel

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Speaker 1: like I want to ask you, like, where did that

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Speaker 1: fantasy or that ignorance come from? Because even I will say,

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Speaker 1: in my own family, I've had to shift some of

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Speaker 1: my family member's views on raising the minimum wage because

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Speaker 1: in our community, it was, you know, the summer job

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Speaker 1: was to go work at the grocery store. The summer

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Speaker 1: job was to go and work in retail for a

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Speaker 1: couple of months and then you head to college or

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Speaker 1: you go back to high school or what have you.

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Speaker 1: And so they saw these young you know, these young

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Speaker 1: kids at one time or another in these positions, and

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Speaker 1: they're saying, well, why do they need fifteen dollars an hour?

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Speaker 1: They're living at home, they don't have any bills, right,

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Speaker 1: so can you can you burst that bubble for us

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Speaker 1: or tell us where, where and why it originated to

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Speaker 1: begin with.

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Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know for certain, but my suspicion

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Speaker 2: is that you know, these are places grocery stores and

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Speaker 2: food service places that there are some of the few

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Speaker 2: places probably that will hire people who are just starting out,

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Speaker 2: you know, who have never had a first job before,

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Speaker 2: because there are aspects to those jobs, though those are

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Speaker 2: getting fewer and fewer and you know, more far right

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Speaker 2: right where you know, you can bring someone in who's

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Speaker 2: never you know, worked to cash register or something, and

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Speaker 2: you can train them to do that, you know, relatively

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Speaker 2: quickly and they can hold that position. But to assume

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Speaker 2: that these places are only made up of those people,

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Speaker 2: it just doesn't frankly, doesn't make any sense. I mean,

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Speaker 2: somebody has to be there to train these people. Somebody

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Speaker 2: has to have been there long enough to you know, know,

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Speaker 2: where things are, be able to do inventory, be able

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Speaker 2: to place orders, be able you know. So it's just

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Speaker 2: I think it's because there are places that allow people

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Speaker 2: to start you know, their working life there. But that

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Speaker 2: doesn't mean that that place is solely made up of

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Speaker 2: fifteen and sixteen year olds. So that's the only thing

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Speaker 2: that I can think is that maybe that's where it

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Speaker 2: come from. Yeah, those are you know, dairy queen or

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Speaker 2: you know, those kind of starter jobs that people because

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Speaker 2: there's a way to get in there on the ground floor,

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Speaker 2: and they'll they're willing to put in the training and

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Speaker 2: sometimes it's minimal, especially if it's something where they know

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Speaker 2: they're only going to have you for a few months.

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Speaker 2: But in a case like Starbucks, I mean the skill level,

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Speaker 2: you could not just pull someone off the street and

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Speaker 2: stick them in a green apron behind that counter and

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Speaker 2: expect things to run smoothly. It would be a massive disaster.

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Speaker 2: You know, you're you're aside from a safety issue, I mean,

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Speaker 2: you're dealing with very hot liquid, you're dealing with all

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Speaker 2: sorts of machinery and all sorts of things that are

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Speaker 2: constantly breaking down and have to be repaired.

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Speaker 3: So it's this whole sort.

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Speaker 2: Of you know, unskilled labor, which is just an oxymoron.

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Speaker 2: There's no if there's no unskilled labor. You know, you

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Speaker 2: have to have some level of skill to do every

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Speaker 2: sort of job right.

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Speaker 3: It has to be something out right.

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Speaker 2: So it's just it's very it's frustrating. And the other

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Speaker 2: flip side of that is, let's just say that, you know,

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Speaker 2: some place is able to function with the workforce between

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Speaker 2: the ages of fifteen and eighteen.

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Speaker 3: Let's just say that that exists.

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Speaker 2: Do those workers not deserve fair wages and not deserve

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Speaker 2: safe working conditions because they fall within a certain age bracket?

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Speaker 2: I mean, you want your children going into work for

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Speaker 2: a place that doesn't care about their safety and doesn't

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Speaker 2: value their labor. So I mean, there's really there's no

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Speaker 2: good argument for any of that, you know, it does.

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Speaker 2: I mean, there were high school kids at the Elmwood location,

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Speaker 2: you know, the first location to unionize. There was a

400
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Speaker 2: couple of high school kids who were there. Now, I

401
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,920
Speaker 2: should note that's a very clear shift in Starbucks hiring

402
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Speaker 2: as well. You don't have to really go into that,

403
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Speaker 2: but if you want to look at how the business

404
00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:38,119
Speaker 2: model of Starbucks as a whole has shifted. When I

405
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Speaker 2: started with the company, we didn't hire anybody under the

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Speaker 2: age of eighteen for a multitude of reasons.

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Speaker 3: Oh wow, I'm assuming safety being one of them, probably

408
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Speaker 3: restrictions on working hours being another one. And then you know,

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Speaker 3: lo and behold.

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Speaker 2: You see, here's the pandemic, and you know, people are struggling,

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Speaker 2: and all of a sudden, they're like, sure, you're sixteen

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Speaker 2: and you want to come this, you know. And I'm

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Speaker 2: not saying that's a bad thing, but I'm just saying

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Speaker 2: the company has shifted. The business model of the company

415
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Speaker 2: has changed. Howard himself was quoted an article last year,

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Speaker 2: you know, saying, Hey, once upon a time, I wanted this,

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Speaker 2: this coffeehouse experience. That's why I opened Starbucks. I wanted

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Speaker 2: people to come in and have this be their third place.

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Speaker 2: You know, you've got your home, you've got your work,

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Speaker 2: and this is your Starbucks, your third place where you

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Speaker 2: can come and hang out and do work and read

422
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Speaker 2: a book. But guess what, I'm actually moving away from

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Speaker 2: that model now. Now I'm going to you know, grab

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Speaker 2: and go where I don't really care if you have

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Speaker 2: an experience, come in and you know, spend your money

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Speaker 2: and leave. Clearly, that's not what he said in those words,

427
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Speaker 2: but that's the gist of it. It's he himself is

428
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Speaker 2: moving away from this sort of you know, what the

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Speaker 2: company would call customer connection, which I think is is

430
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Speaker 2: huge and it should tell you exactly where what kind

431
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Speaker 2: of what side of the line they're falling on. It's

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Speaker 2: come in and give your you know, make your purchase,

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Speaker 2: give them money, and then if your experience is subpart, well,

434
00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:02,320
Speaker 2: you know, we already have your money. So it's just

435
00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:05,919
Speaker 2: it's sad. And it's not the company that I started

436
00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:08,640
Speaker 2: working for. And it's actually not the company that he founded,

437
00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,359
Speaker 2: you know, it's not the company that he runs around

438
00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,000
Speaker 2: saying is you know, the be all and end all

439
00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,159
Speaker 2: of the service of the service industry and of the

440
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:20,720
Speaker 2: coffee industry. And so if we can somehow collectively as

441
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:24,320
Speaker 2: the workers come together and you know, by demanding better

442
00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:27,760
Speaker 2: for ourselves, inevitably make the company better, it's a win

443
00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:30,280
Speaker 2: win situation. And I think that's what is still so

444
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,879
Speaker 2: shocking to me, is that it's being fought so hard,

445
00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,080
Speaker 2: but for what reason. No one's been able to give

446
00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:38,280
Speaker 2: us a concrete reason as to why this shouldn't be.

447
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:42,000
Speaker 2: You know, Starbucks could do an about face tomorrow and

448
00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:45,080
Speaker 2: you know, really come to the table and really bargain

449
00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,320
Speaker 2: a fair contract with these workers, and the world would

450
00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:50,320
Speaker 2: applaud them. You know, they would be would they say there,

451
00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:52,879
Speaker 2: you know, they'd set the standard for the service industry,

452
00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,840
Speaker 2: which they've done time and time again. Most people would

453
00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:58,639
Speaker 2: forget all of the egregious labor law violations, which are

454
00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:03,120
Speaker 2: in the thousands at this point, you know, most of us.

455
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,240
Speaker 2: Not me, and certainly not the two hundred plus fired

456
00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,200
Speaker 2: workers who have been fired for trying to organize their Starbucks,

457
00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:11,560
Speaker 2: but most of the world would be like, look at Starbucks.

458
00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:13,959
Speaker 2: Look at how amazing they are respecting their worker's right

459
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,919
Speaker 2: to organize and negotiating a fair contract. The public loves

460
00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:20,600
Speaker 2: to see. I mean, we're at a point where the

461
00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:25,360
Speaker 2: public likes to see employers take care of their workers.

462
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:28,760
Speaker 2: You know, they like to support businesses who are doing

463
00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:30,639
Speaker 2: the right thing. We just saw Ben and Jerry's. We

464
00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:33,520
Speaker 2: just saw that, you know, Ben and Jerry's shop in Vermont,

465
00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,040
Speaker 2: file and the company came out and said, hey, not

466
00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:38,399
Speaker 2: only are we going to respect us labor law, but

467
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,320
Speaker 2: we're going to sign a non interference agreement, essentially saying

468
00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:44,560
Speaker 2: we're going to stand back and allow this union election

469
00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:49,359
Speaker 2: to go through without trying to come in and you know,

470
00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,240
Speaker 2: illegally change things and sort of push things in our favor.

471
00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:55,399
Speaker 2: And if the union wins, we're going to bargain a

472
00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:57,560
Speaker 2: fair you know, we're going to sit down and bargain

473
00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,240
Speaker 2: a fair contract. And everyone was like, this is amazing.

474
00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:01,560
Speaker 2: You know, go Ben and Jerry's.

475
00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:04,240
Speaker 3: Ben. You know, Starbucks is like the Ben and Jerry's

476
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:04,720
Speaker 3: of coffee.

477
00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,000
Speaker 2: So the fact that they are not taking that route

478
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:11,679
Speaker 2: is you know, it sounds so naive, but part of

479
00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:14,479
Speaker 2: me is still shocked. You know, I've seen this company

480
00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:17,600
Speaker 2: make some serious mistakes in thirteen years. I've seen them

481
00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:20,520
Speaker 2: make some missteps. I've seen them acknowledge those mistakes, and

482
00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:23,040
Speaker 2: I've seen them do whatever they can to write those mistakes.

483
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,000
Speaker 2: So that's really what I thought was going to happen here.

484
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,040
Speaker 2: I thought a little bit of resistance at the beginning,

485
00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:30,120
Speaker 2: but they're going to realize this is the right who

486
00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:31,879
Speaker 2: wants to be on the wrong side of history. You

487
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:34,200
Speaker 2: can't look at what's going on here and say Starbucks

488
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:35,440
Speaker 2: is on the right side of this fight.

489
00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:36,280
Speaker 3: They're just simply not.

490
00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,000
Speaker 2: So the fact that they're still fighting so hard, that

491
00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:43,760
Speaker 2: we're all still fighting so hard is kind of mind boggling.

492
00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:48,960
Speaker 1: Michelle, last question for you is, you know, people listening

493
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,520
Speaker 1: to this go to Starbucks, right they go to Starbucks.

494
00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:56,480
Speaker 1: They spend their money and they felt like they were

495
00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:00,840
Speaker 1: doing good. And I'm just curious, what do you say

496
00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:04,719
Speaker 1: to people to the consumer who believes in what it

497
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,880
Speaker 1: is that you were doing at Starbucks workers United and

498
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:12,400
Speaker 1: wants to support your efforts and doesn't know how.

499
00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:15,240
Speaker 2: So there's a couple of things that can be done.

500
00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:17,080
Speaker 2: If you are in an area that has a store

501
00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:19,600
Speaker 2: that is either unionized or is trying to unionize, and

502
00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:22,880
Speaker 2: you can patronize that store, I would say, please do that.

503
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:25,800
Speaker 2: Let those workers know that you believe in what they're

504
00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:29,320
Speaker 2: doing and that you're standing with them. One of the

505
00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:31,840
Speaker 2: things that Howard did when he stepped back into power

506
00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,640
Speaker 2: to try to stop this campaign was he took all

507
00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:38,040
Speaker 2: of these asks that the union had made and some

508
00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:41,479
Speaker 2: early bargaining bargaining sessions. I use air quotes for those

509
00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:43,120
Speaker 2: of you who can't see me, because there wasn't really

510
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,439
Speaker 2: any actual bargaining going on. But he took things that

511
00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:47,880
Speaker 2: the union was asking for, and he went and granted

512
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,800
Speaker 2: those benefits, things like credit card tipping, which the company

513
00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:53,159
Speaker 2: had never had before. The union asked for it, but

514
00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:55,159
Speaker 2: he said, I'm going to give you all these benefits,

515
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,240
Speaker 2: but I'm not going to give them to the unionized workers.

516
00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:00,200
Speaker 2: I'm going to give these benefits to the non union workers.

517
00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:02,800
Speaker 3: That happened, I mean that took place.

518
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:06,040
Speaker 2: Oh wow, So there are non union stores who are

519
00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,199
Speaker 2: making some of these workers are making, you know, up

520
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:11,200
Speaker 2: to four dollars more an hour than a union store

521
00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:14,240
Speaker 2: down the street because that store is allowing credit card

522
00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:16,920
Speaker 2: tipping and the union store is not being allowed, you know,

523
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,560
Speaker 2: not being granted credit card tipping. So, you know, we're

524
00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:25,280
Speaker 2: being retaliated against and punished, literally punished for wanting, you know,

525
00:28:25,359 --> 00:28:28,680
Speaker 2: for executing our right as a US citizen to organize

526
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:31,679
Speaker 2: our workplace. So if you are around a unionized store

527
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,080
Speaker 2: or a store that you've heard is unionizing, and you

528
00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:36,439
Speaker 2: can come in and you know, patronize that store and

529
00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:38,560
Speaker 2: you know, tell the workers that are doing a good job,

530
00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:40,440
Speaker 2: throw an extra five in the tip jar or something

531
00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:44,680
Speaker 2: along those lines, I would highly, highly recommend that the

532
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:46,719
Speaker 2: other thing is just getting the word out there that

533
00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:50,760
Speaker 2: this is happening and that the company is not behaving

534
00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:53,400
Speaker 2: in the way that the company, you know, a company

535
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:56,480
Speaker 2: like Starbucks should be behaving. You know, there are egregious

536
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,800
Speaker 2: acts of labor law violation that are in litigation some

537
00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:02,720
Speaker 2: have already been they've been found guilty of and you know,

538
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:05,480
Speaker 2: now it's just the long court process of what are

539
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:10,640
Speaker 2: the remedies for that. It's been really hard to be,

540
00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:15,040
Speaker 2: you know, a worker doing this. But what's hopeful is that,

541
00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:18,160
Speaker 2: in spite of the way that the company has reacted,

542
00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:20,160
Speaker 2: in spite of the way they're treating their workers who

543
00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:24,480
Speaker 2: are trying to organize, there are stores filing union petitions

544
00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:27,920
Speaker 2: every every week. We still have workers who are brave

545
00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:29,920
Speaker 2: enough to join this fight and say, you know what,

546
00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:32,600
Speaker 2: we know what's going to come at us because we've

547
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:34,560
Speaker 2: watched it happen. I don't know if I would have

548
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:36,160
Speaker 2: been brave enough to do this if I wasn't at

549
00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:38,080
Speaker 2: the first store, if I had been at Store one

550
00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:40,200
Speaker 2: hundred and I'd seen what the company had done to

551
00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:42,760
Speaker 2: the workers who were for unionizing, what I've been brave

552
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:44,240
Speaker 2: enough to stand up and say I'm still going to

553
00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:47,480
Speaker 2: join this fight. There are hundreds of Starbucks workers still

554
00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,760
Speaker 2: choosing to join this fight, you know, every month, in

555
00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:53,000
Speaker 2: spite of the way the company is reacting. And I

556
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,760
Speaker 2: think if that isn't you know, the epitome of hopeful

557
00:29:56,840 --> 00:30:00,640
Speaker 2: and hope for this new sort of frontier of of

558
00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:01,600
Speaker 2: the labor movement.

559
00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:02,600
Speaker 3: I don't know what is.

560
00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,880
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, Michelle, I thank you so much for making

561
00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:09,800
Speaker 1: the time to join woke AF, but really for the

562
00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:15,920
Speaker 1: work that you are doing to create a better environment

563
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,640
Speaker 1: for workers, one that has dignity, that has respect, that

564
00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:23,320
Speaker 1: has safety, which should just be the norm. It shouldn't

565
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:25,640
Speaker 1: be something that you have to fight for. But I

566
00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:28,000
Speaker 1: really appreciate you making the time to join woke A

567
00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:36,200
Speaker 1: thank you, thank you. That is it for me today.

568
00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:40,360
Speaker 1: Dear friends on WOKAF as always power to the people

569
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,880
Speaker 1: and to all the people power, Get woke and stay

570
00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:44,960
Speaker 1: woke as fuck.