Starbucks and other companies escalate war on unions with store closures
Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/starbucks-and-other-companies-escalate-war-on-unions-with-store-closures
The union wave is hitting coffee chains big and small, but the bosses aren\u2019t going down without a fight. In June, after workers there voted overwhelmingly to unionize, Starbucks permanently closed the popular College Ave. location in Ithaca, New York, in a suspected act of retaliation, leaving workers in dire financial straits. Then, on July 11, Starbucks announced it would close 16 of its branches over alleged \u201csafety concerns.\u201d Workers and organizers have been quick to point out that two of the branches targeted for closure in Seattle also recently unionized, and they allege that Starbucks is breaching US labor laws. Meanwhile, in Louisville, Kentucky, local \u201cprogressive\u201d coffee chain Heine Brothers\u2019 Coffee has come under fire for its own response to employees\u2019 efforts to unionize, including closing the Douglass Loop location, where some of the most vocal pro-union workers were employed. In an urgent panel discussion, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speaks with worker-organizers from the closed Heine Brothers\u2019 store in Louisville and the closed College Ave. Starbucks in Ithaca: Gami Ray, a barista and worker-organizer with the Heine Brothers\u2019 Workers Union, and Bek, a shift supervisor and worker-organizer with Starbucks Workers United.
Pre-Production/Studio/Post-Production: Cameron Granadino
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