SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
gen z for change
Starbucks Workers Win Union at 500th US Shop
"This milestone is a testament to workers building power from the ground up," said Lynne Fox, president of Workers United.
Oct 01, 2024
Working-class allies including labor groups celebrated on Tuesday after Starbucks Workers United announced that employees of the coffee giant had made their Washington state shop the 500th U.S. location to unionize since late 2021.
"CONGRATS to Starbucks partners at Old Fairhaven Parkway and 30th in Bellingham... who make history as the 500th location to organize with Starbucks Workers United!" the organization said on social media.
The post featured a photo of three people holding "500" balloons and a video of one partner—as company employees are called—saying, "I'm excited to be part of the union."
"I'm excited to work with all the other stores, and sit across [from] Starbucks at the bargaining table, and to hopefully make a better future for all the partners, and to be just a part of something much bigger," the worker explained.
Groups including the AFL-CIO, Chicago Federation of Labor, New York City Central Labor Council, Service Employees International Union Local 721, 1199SEIU, and Strategic Organizing Center congratulated the Starbucks workers on the milestone.
In a video posted on social media on Tuesday, SEIU president April Verrett also congratulated "all of the amazing leaders at Starbucks Workers United who have stood together" and are now celebrating a victory at the 500th store in the nation.
"What started as a feisty little movement in Buffalo is now 10,000 baristas strong—and that's not an accident," she continued, citing the first win in New York state. "That is because of your hard work, your tenacity, your resilience, and your can-do spirit. Now that we're at 500, let's get on to 1,000."
"At the same time, your co-workers are at the table banging out what's gonna be a historic agreement that's gonna be the framework for all 500 stores and counting," she added. "I am so incredibly proud to stand in solidarity with all of you all. Onward to the next 500 stores. Let's go get it."
Workers United president Lynne Fox said Tuesday that "this milestone is a testament to workers building power from the ground up."
"Starbucks partners have boldly demanded a voice on the job and with it, strong contracts that ensure respect, living wages, racial and gender equity, fair scheduling, and more," Fox said in a statement to CNBC.
While Starbucks has repeatedly been accused of violating workers' rights—and its new CEO, Brian Niccol, has a history of union-busting—a company spokesperson told CNBC that "we respect our partners' rights to have a choice on the topic of unions," and "we are proud of the progress we have made on bargaining and are committed to continuing to work together to achieve our shared goals."
Organizers' ongoing progress at Starbucks comes amid soaring public support for unions. As Common Dreamsreported in August, an annual Gallup Labor Day poll revealed that 70% of Americans approve of labor unions, versus just 23% who disapprove.
As Verrett said in response to the polling this summer, "Together, we are strong."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Progressives for Harris' Call Rallies Broad Coalition to Defeat Fascism
"For the sake of our kids and our grandchildren, and for the planet, Trump must be defeated and Kamala Harris must be elected," Sen. Bernie Sanders said on the call.
Aug 06, 2024
More than 150,000 people tuned in Monday night to a Zoom call featuring prominent progressive lawmakers, organizers, and labor leaders who have united in an effort to help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris defeat former President Donald Trump and the far-right forces he represents in November.
The "Progressives for Harris" call, which lasted more than three hours, came ahead of the vice president's expected announcement of her running mate, a choice that progressives see as an important signal of how Harris intends to campaign and govern.
Progressives have backed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who is reportedly one of the final two contenders in the running for the spot on the Democratic ticket. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is believed to be the other candidate under consideration.
But Harris' vice presidential pick was not a significant topic of discussion on Monday night's call, which included remarks from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain and Association of Flight Attendants-CWA president Sara Nelson, Reps. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and leaders of the Uncommitted Movement.
"I'm inviting you all to get formation with the pro-democracy forces uniting against American fascism as well as fascism all around the world, a coalition that includes black men and women who organized in the tens of thousands not too long ago, LGBTQ folks, labor unions, and millions of workers all around the country and the world," said Working Families Party national director Maurice Mitchell, who emceed the event. "People like me who want an arms embargo to stop the war in Gaza and care deeply about public safety and police accountability and climate change and housing justice and education, people who want to protect reproductive rights, and everybody of good conscience in between."
"We cannot be spectators," Mitchell added. "We must be agents."
Watch the full event:
The call was held hours after polling from Data for Progress showed that strong majorities of voters in key battleground states support central elements of the progressive agenda, including raising taxes on the rich and large corporations, expanding Medicare and Social Security benefits, hiking the federal minimum wage, and reining in out-of-control housing costs.
Sanders, who commissioned the survey as he pushes Harris to embrace an ambitious working-class agenda, said during Monday's event that "my message is pretty clear, and that is: All of us together must do everything that we can to defeat Donald Trump and elect Kamala Harris as our next president."
"The truth of the matter," said the Vermont senator, "is that our nation will not survive in any form that we can be proud of if we elect as president a pathological liar, somebody who I think just doesn't know the difference between truth and lies, someone convicted of 34 felonies, someone who is a convicted sexual abuser, and someone who as a businessman in the private sector was involved in 4,000 different lawsuits."
"For the sake of our kids and our grandchildren, and for the planet, Trump must be defeated and Kamala Harris must be elected," Sanders added.
While the call showcased broad support for Harris among leading progressives and a commitment to preventing Trump from winning another four years in the White House, grassroots organizers also made clear that they intend to pressure the Democratic nominee on critical issues, including the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza—created by Israel with the support of the United States.
"Gen Z is determined to make sure Trump is nowhere near the White House ever again," Elise Joshi, executive director of Gen Z for Change, said during Monday's livestream. (According to one estimate, nearly 41 million members of Gen Z—people between the ages of 18 and 27 this year—will be eligible to vote in November.)
"At the same time, Gen Z for Change must honor where this generation is at," Joshi continued. "Heeding the calls of young people means calling for an immediate and permanent cease-fire, and using the leverage at our disposal to achieve one, including a weapons embargo. With that, and a working-class agenda, we will see record turnout from Gen Z in November."
Keep ReadingShow Less
To Regain Support, Groups Say Biden Must Embrace 'Finish the Job' Youth Agenda
"In 2024, you cannot win higher office without the youth vote, and you cannot win the youth vote without the Youth Agenda."
Mar 06, 2024
On the heels of Super Tuesday and ahead of the annual State of the Union address, a quartet of U.S. advocacy groups on Wednesday unveiled the "Finish the Job" Youth Agenda, inspired by the reelection campaign of Democratic President Joe Biden—who is expected to again face former Republican President Donald Trump.
"In 2020, young people sent Biden to the White House. In 2024, how many young people turn out for Biden will determine if we stave off a second Trump presidency," said Sunrise Movement political director Michele Weindling in a statement. "Right now, young people are shouting for what we need from Biden to mobilize our generation this November."
"President Biden must do everything in his power to fight the climate crisis, to end gun violence, to not cater to the right at the cost of immigrants' lives, and he must call for an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza," she asserted.
In addition to the climate-focused Sunrise Movement, the coalition is made up of Gen-Z for Change, which works on a variety of issues; March for Our Lives, a gun violence prevention group; and United We Dream Action, a national immigrant network.
Their "bold, progressive" agenda features demands on climate change, criminal justice reform, democracy, economic justice, education, gender and LGBTQ+ equality, gun violence prevention, housing, immigration, and reproductive justice.
"Our Finish the Job Youth Agenda is a clear reiteration of the issues that matter most to young constituents and a roadmap for President Biden and his administration to follow if they want to earn our support," said Michelle Ming, political director of United We Dream Action. "With the Youth Agenda, we're giving Biden our winning playbook."
Members of the organizations announced the agenda at a press conference on Capitol Hill, where they were joined by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Greg Casar (Texas), Ro Khanna (Calif.), and Summer Lee (Pa.).
"Young people across the country are boldly demanding a cease-fire, affordable housing, Medicare for All, and for our leaders to tackle the climate crisis. It's time we listen to them," declared Khanna, thanking the groups for their "vision and advocacy."
Shoutout to the young people and organizations, like @genzforchange, @sunrisemvmt, @UWDaction, @AMarch4OurLives, and so many more that are doing the work to make change in our communities. We're with you! pic.twitter.com/NBs2iyye53
— Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) March 6, 2024
The coalition also sent a letter to Biden, explaining that "we have reached out to you before to urge you to listen to our generation, and today we are asking you once again to work with us to fight for better."
"We are a generation that grew up through crisis, but we have big dreams," they wrote. "We dream of a country where we all have access to healthcare no matter what, where we don't have to hide under our desks during school shooter drills, where families aren't broken apart at the border, where we're not crushed by student loan debt, where we have clean air, clean water, and a livable future, and where our leaders can expansively hold safety for all of us and vigorously fight for a lasting cease-fire and against Islamophobia and antisemitism, rather than write blank checks for genocide."
The letter continues:
Going into 2024, you must run on a bold and progressive agenda that invests in our generation and recognizes the need for immediate action to combat the issues of our time. We need you to prove to our generation that you are fighting for us every step of the way.
We want to acknowledge the leadership your presidency has provided—from the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act to the announcement of the American Climate Corps, to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the establishment of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, your administration's attempt to cancel student loan debt, and your solidarity with United Auto Workers on strike and the halting of Liquified Natural Gas projects—we appreciate these efforts.
At the same time, we hope you can understand this is not enough. We need far more.
After stressing the important role that younger voters have played in recent elections—a trend expected to continue—the coalition concluded that "if you commit to prioritizing these actions, young people will turn out and make 'finishing the job' a reality."
Coalition leaders echoed that point. Gen-Z for Change executive director Elise Joshi pointed out that her group "launched a tool last week that enabled people across the country to send over 4 million emails to members of Congress urging for a cease-fire."
"On top of that, millions are marching, divesting, donating, learning, and amplifying," she continued. "So to the Biden administration and our representatives, youth are awake and unwavering."
March for Our Lives executive director Natalie Fall similarly said that "however you square it, young people are inheriting a broken and imperfect world. But as young people step into their political power, we are not accepting things as they are. Young people have organized and stood up for ourselves and our future. It's time for our leaders to do the same for us."
"So we are saying to any candidate who wants our vote: Listen to us, govern with our needs and our future in mind, and we will deliver you our votes," she added. "We know that our vote is a precious and powerful thing. In 2024, you cannot win higher office without the youth vote, and you cannot win the youth vote without the Youth Agenda. If President Biden really wants to 'finish the job,' this is the roadmap he must follow."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular