Organized By: ESSN Jobs with Justice / Public Meeting / Green Flag…….

Union baristas across the country are on an open-ended ULP strike, the longest in Starbucks’ history, after years of illegal union busting and refusal to settle a fair contract by the company. Workers are demanding fair hours, higher take-home pay, and a resolution of the hundreds of outstanding labor law violations that Starbucks continues to commit.

In Lane County, all but three Starbucks stores are currently on strike. And while Eugene and Springfield have long been union towns, it’s disturbing to see how many customers are crossing picket lines.

What’s especially frustrating is that you can’t throw a rock in this community without hitting a drive-thru coffee stand, yet many of our neighbors not only ignore striking workers, they’re openly hostile to them. Just the other day on the picket line at the 7th Street drive thru, I watched a woman deliberately ignore the picketers while sporting a bumper sticker that read, “The only minority destroying this country is billionaires.” Shortly after, a man attempted to walk into the store and shouted at the workers, “You can easily be replaced.”

Sadly, visible community support on the picket line has been minimal.

I know the vast majority of people in our community support workers and unions. But right now, we’re allowing a loud minority, largely drawn from the middle and upper-middle-class professional and managerial ranks to attack and disrespect fellow workers who are simply standing up for dignity and fair treatment.

It’s time we show real solidarity. It’s time to stand with workers and unions and send a clear message to billionaires like Howard Schultz and Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol: workers are not disposable, and communities like ours will not be pushed around.

Join us this Saturday for coffee and learn how you can support our striking Starbucks workers.