Labor Union Blog

Rallies were held at Starbucks locations around the world this weekend in response to the alleged firing of two employees for union activity. One employee was fired in Sain and the other in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Protests were held on Saturday in nearly 12 countries and more than 10 U.S. cities. In 2004, the first Starbucks was organized in New York City by the Industrial Workers of the World. Starbucks has long contested that while it supports the right to organize the company believes that with the pro-worker environment it provides unionization is unnecessary. The employee in Seville, Spain was fired on April 24 after she refused to attend work meetings off the clock and inquired about why a co-worker had fired.