Ithaca Starbucks Workers Strike for Fourth Consecutive Day
Solidarity Action Monday 8/29 8AM-Noon
Information about solidarity action for Monday in front of the Starbucks on the Ithaca Commons below. We will update this article as the day progresses.
Workers at the two remaining Starbucks locations in Ithaca will be ON STRIKE from 8AM until Noon on Monday, August 28.
This means that if you want an iced caramel macchiato, you won’t be getting it in the City of Ithaca; Starbucks management closed down the College Ave location in a union-busting attempt, and workers from the Meadow St. and Commons stores — which have already unionized — have been on strike every day since Friday.
So we request that ITU members come out in a show of solidarity and support for the workers fighting for better working conditions, more workplace power, and better pay.
This is the fourth day of a strike that began as a walk-out after the firing of union organizer Kayli Gillette, 28. Gillete had been a shift supervisor at Starbucks, having been with the company for over four years. A couple hours into her Friday morning shift, she was called in by a manager and fired.
Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) has successfully unionized over 200 stores around the country, and Ithaca’s Starbucks workers (‘partners’) have faced hostility after unionizing both remaining Starbucks stores in the city.
The Ithaca Voice reported on what happened on Friday, August 26, but it’s also important to note that Gillette was fired for being late — not on the day of her firing, but three weeks earlier.
“I was I was fired for being late on August 3rd,” said Gillette. “They wanted to wait for the College Ave employees to get settled in before they got rid of me. Because we don’t have very many staff. They’ve been kinda pushing people out for a long time.”
Another employee mentioned that Friday was only their second shift at the Commons location, and that they had just been asked if they were comfortable closing the store. Only then was Kayli called in to be fired.
So it appears that Starbucks management was sitting on the lateness write-up until it wouldn’t affect the already-limited hours of operation for the store. Or so they thought when the partners walked out and began the strike.
Kayli is the third Ithaca employee fired by Starbucks management in the past three weeks. To make matters worse, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint against Starbucks, less than 48 hours before Kayli’s firing. As reported by news outlets like Vox, Washington Post, and others, this was the latest in a series of at least 20 complaints by NLRB.
“My experience with Starbucks in the past few months has been nothing like it has been in the past four years,” said Gillette, who had worked for the company in Houston, Dallas, New York City, and Ithaca over the past four years. “The company is absolutely union-busting and trying to push people out and firing more people than I’ve ever seen.”
Starbucks management is likely to continue employing dirty tactics, so keep your eyes and ears open for updates on this issue.
We’ll be standing with the workers all the way until victory, so come out and join us on the morning of Monday, August 29. And bring some friends.
Direct Action: MONDAY 8/29 8AM-Noon
ITU members will be on the Commons bright and early on Monday morning from 8:00 until noon, supporting the workers, as well as those who have been fired in retaliatory union-busting acts.
- Bring signs, supplies to make tjem, or just join us and make some there!
- If you’re able, bring some snacks, coffee, etc. to share
- Light clothing and umbrellas for the heat would be advisable, since it’s supposed to get HOT
If you are *unable* to come down to the Commons:
- Strike Fund: striking workers miss out on income for every day that they strike. This solidarity fund helps them pay the bills, and it makes it that much harder for Starbucks management to starve them out by just waiting. For the workers fired by Starbucks’ retaliatory actions, these funds are particularly important. If you’re able, please donate here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/ithaca-sb-workers-united-strike-fund - Please follow and share information from our pages, in addition to Starbucks Workers United socials:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/sbworkersunited
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/sbworkersithaca/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SBWorkersUnited
Also check out the Starbucks Workers United website.
There’s national attention on this, but we need to keep the pressure up until workers lock in their power, store by store.
