Starbucks' unionized workers are holding a massive strike vote. If approved, more than 12,000 baristas in 45 states and the District of Columbia could strike. @sbworkersunited.org says the strike would be open-ended, potentially continuing through the holidays.

Tomorrow's #EconomicUpdate w/ @profwolff.bsky.social "#Union Organizing In Today's U.S." features @abolisheconomics.bsky.social & Alex Pyne from @bbiunion.bsky.social ! @democracyatwork.bsky.social #democracyatwork #labor #workersinquiry Watch it here: tinyurl.com/hwu8s3jf

LET'S GOOOOO!!!! labornotes.org/2025/10/stri...

@bbiunion.bsky.social baristas are fighting for a 1st contract with Blue Bottle, & they can't wait any longer for change. Right now, some baristas are having to sell blood plasma or live out of their cars to make ends meet. Help them win a living wage, sign today: bit.ly/nocontractno... #solidarity

Anyway, I'm annoyed. I've written previously about how important and skilled the job of the barista is. Coffee from a robot or a vending machine just can't compete, I don't care how technically proficient that coffee might be.

This month marks a year that our union has been negotiating for a first contract with Nestlé-owned Blue Bottle. They STILL have not given us a counter to any of our economic demands. www.bluebottleunion.org/blog/october...

Workers in the U.S. have important protections at most jobs whether or not they have citizenship, but bosses don’t always follow the law, and many exploit this climate of fear. This 🧵 includes some of your most crucial labor rights and the myths bosses might try to feed you. 👇

Thank you to @bostoniww for donating $1,500 to our union’s strike fund! As an independent union, we rely entirely on voluntary dues the solidarity of others. If you would like to follow in the generous footsteps of our friends in the IWW, please go to tinyurl.com/bbiu-strike to donate

My dear friend has been struck with brain cancer :( Mahoma is without exaggeration one of the great rank & file organizers in the U.S. of the last decades. His organizing at the NY deli he worked at and a resulting documentary brought him to public attention. His work has only deepened since then.

“We are monitoring this issue because we believe that a company’s ability to establish and maintain constructive relationships with workers is a hallmark of a company with a sustainable long-term strategy. As such, we are calling on the company to promptly reach a first contract with SBWU.”

"At best, carbon offsets are supporting well-intentioned restoration and mitigation efforts that otherwise might not happen. At worst they are environmental indulgences, purchased to placate customers and neutralize any political will to make real changes to the industry."

With a less functional NLRB, and even after the shutdown ends, it will continue to be understaffed and underfunded, workers need to organize using other strategies. capitalandmain.com/dollar-store...

"The error that many bargaining teams make is not reviewing the cost of living each of the previous five years. Because of extreme inflation during the last five years, minimum increases of as much as 10% may be needed to restore purchasing power." labornotes.org/2025/10/bigg...

Boss skimming your tips? Wages not adding up right? Sounds like you need a union! Solidarity Union Network is here to support you in your union building process. We have the methods, the blueprints, and the community to help point the way. Check us out at www.sununion.org

One of our organizers needs your help to avoid losing their home! Alexa is a unionist in the East Bay and is at risk of losing their housing because Blue Bottle does not pay a livable wage. Please give what you can to help keep them housed! gofund.me/4a386d635

note that this happened after immense pressure from students and workers at MIT, including a press conference planned for later today

Will certainly be interesting to see how much Starbucks store closures overlap with unionized stores.

☕️ At Coffee Watch, we’re adding our voice: we draw the line on labour exploitation and environmental destruction in the coffee industry. Every cup of coffee should uphold dignity, fair pay, and a healthy planet. drawtheline.world #DrawTheLine

The Teamsters Local 25 union and waste management company Republic Services agreed to a contract, ending a monthslong worker strike and negotiation, according to the City of Malden.

NEW: 45+ major organizations sent a letter to Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol urging the company to finalize fair union contracts. "We will continue to back union workers’ fight, including by not crossing barista picket lines at Starbucks if they feel striking is necessary." 🔥🔥

You don't hate the rich nearly enough.

Solidarity to our friends in Boston SBWU!! Congrats on showing Brian Niccol that baristas won’t be dissuaded by union busting 🏴☕️

At least most coffee brands have the sense to couch their automation-boosting in terms of "it gives workers more time to focus on customer service" (which is also bullshit), but Octane Coffee is just mask-off about replacing workers with robots - including the customer service bit. Bodes ill!

“Starbucks is on the ropes,” writes @sbworkersunited.org President Lynne Fox. Baristas are prepared to strike if needed to win a fair contract.

Asking for funding is a wildly uncomfortable experience but we gotta do it: this newsletter is reader-funded, and I've got some goals I need your help to accomplish. This month, I'm hoping to reach 50 paid subs to the newsletter. If I reach 1000 by end of 2026, I'll fly to you and fight your boss👊

When the workers care more about the business than the owners. "What no one prepared us for, though, was that the logic that we followed—we want the business to succeed; we need our jobs to make money—didn’t apply to ownership." thebaffler.com/latest/a-fai...

NEW: 48 baristas for local coffee chain Verve Roasters in SF and Santa Cruz are unionizing with UFCW local 5. Verve is apparently under investigation by the city of San Francisco for allegedly violating its Health Care Security Ordinance

Solidarity Union History: Lucy Parsons and the Haymarket Affair workerorganizing.org/working-clas...

Another labor movement is possible

Baristas and librarians alike yearn for inquiry into their working conditions

having a union means you get to do this to your boss

Starbucks: We must cut costs to fund our turnaround plan. Below-inflation raises or layoffs for corporate workers, and now reduced roasting operations (which, presumably, also means job losses). Also Starbucks: We paid our CEO $96m for 4 months work, and will give executives $6m for hitting targets

Nicolas Coronado, who's leading Teamsters 705’s negotiations with Mauser, made an important point. Mauser is being more accommodating to federal immigration authorities than it would likely be to other federal entities, like OSHA. “It’s not likely they’re letting in OSHA without a judicial warrant."

Here's a news story covering Sean's comments & the subsequent retaliation. Judge for yourself, but to me, this is our LA public transit showing how, bit by bit, institutions let fascism take hold. This is a matter of democracy, not just a job. Please share widely: lapublicpress.org/2025/08/la-m...

Guys, I have a special & unusual request today. My cousin Sean is a union bus driver here in Los Angeles who was just FIRED in retaliation for saying he would not let masked ICE agents onto his bus to abduct riders. The fight is on to get his job back, you can help: actionnetwork.org/letters/send...

Solidarity Union History: Ben Fletcher IWW organizer of union branch Local 8, organized thousands of workers on the Philadelphia docks, the most powerful multiracial union in the country at the time. Check out the podcast on his life. workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e73-...

Much love, solidarity, and admiration for our friends at BBIU on the occasion of this latest victory. More proof that worker led-and-operated unionism — with a real, active commitment to internationalism — is a winner.

This flew by my radar this week, but massively important: the 5th circuit court of appeals ruled that the NLRB’s structure unconstitutional. It is a huge blow to “American workers who hope to organize their workplaces without fear of retaliation. It represents a partial negation of the New Deal…”

New independent union dropped 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

Unions boost wages 🚀 On average, a union worker earns 12.8% more in wages than their nonunionized peers. But unions don’t just help union workers—they help ALL workers by raising standards. Read our new report about how unions are good for workers AND communities: www.epi.org/publication/...

Three forces of doom are converging on working class power. On the bright side, the one path out of this is clearly illuminated now. www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/three-cris...

New U.S. tariffs, including a 50% tariff on Brazilian coffee, are driving up costs for cafés and consumers. A cup that once cost $3 could soon climb to $4.50. www.npr.org/2025/07/21/n...

Upon learning that promised wage increases would not come through, cafeteria staff, custodians, bus drivers, social workers, and front office workers walked off the job at Durham's public schools in loosely organized wildcats.

Instead of bargaining with our union and achieving TAs toward our contracts, Starbucks is back to getting charged with Unfair Labor Practices! Tell Starbucks that TAs are better than ULPs. Sign our No Contract No Coffee pledge! bit.ly/NoContractNoCoffee

Labor Notes Organizer Joe DeManuelle-Hall joined the pod to talk about labor educator Charley Richardson's advice on taking a “continuous bargaining” approach at these meetings, “never forgetting that management’s goals and the union’s are distinct.”: labornotes.org/2014/08/how-... 2/3

Retail coffee prices in the U.S. rose 14.5% in July compared to the same month last year. In June they rose 12.7%. Seems... bad. #CoffeeSky

Check out @bbiunion.bsky.social @americanwork47.bsky.social and myself chatting about workers' inquiry and class composition in the café sector on the @librarypunk.bsky.social podcast

153 - Class Composition in the Cafe Sector / Blue Bottle Independent Union This week we’re talking about workers’ inquiry with the Blue Bottle Independent Union for cafe workers! Learn about workers’ inquiry, organization, and how you can do it too! www.librarypunk.gay/e/153-class-...