July 22, 2008 Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

A week after coffee company Starbucks announced it would shutter over 600 locations nationwide, workers at the company’s Mall of America store walked off the job in protest, and joined a national union, a union spokesman confirmed.

Last week the Business Journal reported that the Seattle-based retailer (NYSE: SBUX) would be scaling back nationally, and closing 27 stores in Minnesota. Monday, 13 workers at the Mall of America’s Starbucks location joined a national union called the Industrial Workers of the World, calling for better treatment of workers. The New York City-based union, which was founded in 2004 and has over 200 members, helped Starbucks employees in New York and Chicago organize unions. The group plans a press conference Tuesday.

Starbucks offers effected employees a severance package and may offer some workers transfer to another location.

The Mall of America Starbucks is not on the list of closings.

Mall of America Starbucks Baristas Walk Off Job, Protest Closures [Fox 9]

Submitted by SWU on Tue, 07/22/2008 - 10:47am.

Mall of America Starbucks Baristas Walk Off Job, Protest Closures

Starbucks union plans protest of nationwide closures at MOA

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Starbucks baristas at the Mall of America location walked off the job Monday and delivered a letter to management demanding “just treatment” of all employees affected by Starbucks' store closures nationwide.

The barista walkout comes days after Starbucks announce the closure of 600 stores nationwide, including 27 in Minnesota.

BARISTA DEMANDS

The baristas demanded a severance package of closure-affected workers, plus the option to transfer to other stores.

The Starbucks Workers Union says the company plans to give workers one month notice before laying them off with “a paltry two weeks' pay.” The union also says Starbucks will "insist some baristas transfer and will revoke severance pay if transfer offers are refused."

Starbucks pays baristas a wage of $7.60 per hour -- a rate above minimum wage, but below an amount baristas find satisfactory.

"With the skyrocketing cost of living, workers have no other choice than to stand up for improvements on the job,” former barista Erik Foreman said. “Even at Starbucks in the Mall of America, we can organize and fight!"

MINNESOTA MINIMUM WAGE

There are three minimum wages in effect in Minnesota: $5.25 an hour at businesses with gross yearly sales of less than $500,000; the federal minimum of $5.85 at businesses with sales between $500,000 and $625,000; and $6.15 for larger companies. Starting July 24, all employers with sales topping $500,000 must pay the new federal minimum of $6.55 an hour.

Union Link: www.StarbucksUnion.org