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Starbucks Barista Unjustly Fired, Demands Justice

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Starbucks Barista Unjustly Fired, Demands Justice INDUSTRIAL OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER oF T H E I NDUS T R I A L Wo R K EWORKER R S O F T H E Wo R L D October 2009 #1719 Vol. 106 N o . 8 $1/ £ 1/ €1 Full coverage of 100th anniversary South African farm Serbian syndicalists the annual IWW of McKee’s Rocks workers organize charged with convention 6-7 strike 9 11 “terrorism” 12 Starbucks Barista Unjustly Fired, Demands Justice By John O’Reilly made it clear that she did not under- Starbucks management began yet stand what management was accusing another losing battle when they fired her of, Gallagher and a representative Azmera Mehrbatu. What they did not from Human Resources on the phone know was that Mehrbatu—known to her simply repeated themselves over and customers and fellow workers as “Aiz- over. Most shockingly, the management ze,”— would not simply accept losing implied that if Mehrbatu did not sign the her job for an unjust reason. Mehrbatu note, the police would be called. Fearing and the IWW StarbucksWorkers Union for her three children, Mehrbatu signed (SWU) are standing up to management’s the note that she did not understand, unjust decision and fighting to get her admitting to an offense she maintains job back. she did not commit. Mehrbatu was accused of theft from When IWW barista Anja Witek heard her store in St. Paul, Minn., but man- about the situation, she tried to get in agement have yet to provide a shred of touch with Mehrbatu and found that her evidence that the barista—well-known coworker felt ashamed and bewildered by her coworkers for her accuracy when by the way she had been treated. Witek counting down her till—stole a penny. contacted other baristas in her store and Instead, Starbucks district manager in stores around the Twin Cities, who Clair Gallagher took Mehrbatu into the agreed with her that they would not let back room after a shift in early July and their friend and coworker be targeted. kept her confined there for an hour and “We couldn’t just let this go,” Witek a half until she signed a statement of said. “Clearly something very wrong had guilt and a promissory note that forced happened here and we weren’t going to her to pay $1,200 to the company. As an sit back and watch our friend be submit- immigrant from Ethiopia, Mehrbatu’s ted to this kind of racist discrimination.” English skills are limited, and when she Continued on 9 Azmera Mehrbatu speaks to supporters at a rally on August 15. Photo: Erik Davis Philly Cab Drivers Demonstrate Against Parking Authority Ticketing By J. Pierce The rally in front of the 31st Street a $300 traffic ticket for picking up a Taxi Cab Drivers and Owner-Operators. Market Street was lined for blocks PPA headquarters filled the sidewalk customer while parked in a handicapped In the last several years, the now-com- with taxi cabs parked in the turning with cab drivers of every nationality. spot. He could have moved, documented bined UTWA has organized two 24-hour lane, giving the July 22 rally an air of There were visible numbers of West the situation, or argued with the PPA strikes and 20 to 25 demonstrations, ominous excitement. Three of us from Africans, South Asians, North Africans ticket writer, but he was not given the while combating every counterattack the Philadelphia IWW showed up at and Middle Easterners, along with a chance to do any of these things—his from the government. the midday demonstration. Organizers sprinkling of white and black native- license plate number was simply writ- As we zoomed through Center City with the Unified Taxi Workers Alliance born drivers. It was a thrilling sight to ten down on the fly and the ticket was surrounded by a sea of honking cabs, (UTWA), donning their white, collared see taxi workers of every background mailed to him weeks later. Tickets like Abdul told us how every time the UTWA union shirts, agitated the large crowd of standing together against the PPA and these are difficult to dispute because the advances with a mass action, the City cab drivers, many of them needing little its corporate cohorts. PPA accuses you of an incident that you and State retaliate with more harass- instigation to be pissed off. Large neon We witnessed a short string of can’t remember and that maybe never ment, rules and fines. The three of us posters denounced the Philadelphia speeches and then everybody mobilized even took place. Drive-by ticketing has Wobblies were thrilled with our rank- Parking Authority (PPA) and its twisted like fighter pilots for a caravan down- become the practice of Philadelphia’s and-file view of the demonstration and addiction to ticketing vulnerable cab town. A cab driver, Abdul, scooped us hated PPA, an agency so reviled that flew our IWW flags out of the cab win- drivers. With Mayor Michael Nutter in a up in his cab and we were off to the spite for it has gone national by way of dows. As union drivers filled the streets bitter fight against the City’s librarians, PPA adjudication building at Ninth and the popular TV show “Parking Wars.” around City Hall, honking and blocking sanitation workers, and myriad paper Filbert Streets. The fight with the PPA has been traffic, we could see the City’s apparatus pushers, 5,000 Philadelphia cab drivers Abdul is from Morocco and has a long and bitter one for the recently- swing into action. They dispatched spe- must look like sitting ducks to City Hall four kids. He has been driving a taxi merged Taxi Workers Alliance of Penn- cial cops in suits to block off roads in revenue hunters. for seven years and recently received sylvania and the Unified Brotherhood of Continued on 9 Industrial Worker Periodicals Postage PO Box 23085 PAID Sydney Bus Drivers Take Wildcat Action Cincinnati, OH 45223-3085, USA From libcom.org Months of trade union talks with the Cincinnati, OH A six-hour strike by 130 bus drivers company have failed to halt the onerous and additional in western Sydney, Australia, on Au- new conditions. Angered by the lack of ISSN 0019-8870 mailing offices gust 24—carried out in defiance of their support from the Transport Workers ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED union—has led to furious denunciations Union of Australia (TWU), the drivers from the media and an industrial court conducted their own stoppage, giving no judge. The drivers walked out at the warning to the union or management. Busways Blacktown depot at 3:30 a.m. The TWU opposed the strike and inter- against the imposition of new timetables vened to end it as quickly as possible. that would impose shorter times for Drivers said the timetables would routes. add to Sydney’s public transport sham- Drivers said that the new timetables, bles, which has seen the state Labor scheduled to commence in October, government in New South Wales cut the would be impossible to meet. The frequency of rail services and scrap plans timetables would force buses to run late, to extend the rail network to new outly- which would not only inconvenience and ing suburbs. In many outer western and anger passengers but cut short the driv- southern suburbs, the so-called public ers’ break periods. The drivers said that transport system depends almost en- with the new timetables, they would be tirely on heavily government-subsidized under enormous pressure to drive over private bus companies. the speed limit. Continued on 11 Page 2 • Industrial Worker • October 2009 Happy Offended By “The Reader” Review Halloween! Dear Industrial Worker, Dear Industrial Worker, I just read Mike Ballard’s film review I am writing regarding Mike Bal- of “The Reader,” entitled “A Love Story lard’s review of the movie “The Reader.” In Post-World War II Germany” on page I can certainly agree that there has been Letters welcome! 8 of the the August/September 2009 more than one holocaust and indeed Send your letters to: [email protected] Industrial Worker. there are occurring today holocausts, with “Letter” in the subject. I’m shocked by what an uninterest- however as a Jew who has relatives who ing review this is of a great movie. Boil- died in the Shoah I have to say that I Mailing address: ing down this movie to a statement about find this review sickening, incoherent IW, PO Box 7430, JAF Station, New complacency and about how good people and offensive in its insinuations and York, NY 10116, United States are able to ignore horrible crimes as they omissions. Today’s prison guards and are occurring is ridiculous. The film is so accomplices to mass murder should be Photo: facebook.com/twincities.iww In November We Remember many steps beyond that simplification. condemned by all, but former Nazi death IWW graphics make for great Announcements for the annual This movie is about a conflict between camp guards are sexy and attractive. pumpkin carving designs, and pump- kins are an inexpensive medium to Photo: iww.org “In November We Remember” generations, and about how illiteracy Great. Perhaps the question of anti- Industrial Worker deadline and ignorance are exploited, amonst Semitism, along with racism and sexism spread the word! What better way to is October 2. Celebrate the lives of those other things. I just think that this review needs to be addressed in the IWW and demonstrate your affection for the who have struggled for the working class is terrible. It was made even worse by in the Left in general? Or are we forever OBU? with your message of solidarity.
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