Starbucks in Birmingham becomes first in Alabama to unionize
A Starbucks in Birmingham has become the first in the state to unionize, WHNT reported. Workers at the 20th Street South Starbucks said the vote was 27 for, 1 against. A representative of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) confirmed the results. Organizers said that over 80 Starbucks locations have unionized nationwide. Kyle McGucken, a worker and organizer stated, “I am thankful to both our community and my partners for this truly historic moment. We are a beautiful family, and we wish to go forward, serving each other and our community to our best and truest values. I am proud to be with these amazing partners.” The NLRB said that the employer and workers have until June 3 to file any objections to the vote. “If neither party files objections, the results will be certified and the employer will have to bargain in good faith with the union,” a representative of the NLRB said.
Starbucks apologizes to police for incident in Arizona shop
Starbucks apologized after an employee reportedly asked six police officers to leave or change their location in one of the company’s shops in a Phoenix suburb because another customer reported feeling unsafe. Starbucks said it has “deep respect for the Tempe Police Department” and was apologizing “for any misunderstanding or inappropriate behavior that may have taken place” during the July 4 encounter. The Tempe Officers Association said the officers had just bought their drinks and were standing together before their shift started when a barista made the request for a customer. Association President Rob Ferraro called it perplexing that someone would feel unsafe when officers are around. “This treatment of public safety workers could not be more disheartening. While the barista was polite, making such a request at all was offensive. Unfortunately, such treatment has become all too common in 2019,” the association said in a tweet. The Police Department said it hoped the incident was an isolated incident.The incident has sparked heated debate on social media. Supporters of the police have launched a #boycottstarbucks campaign on Twitter. But critics of the boycott effort said on Twitter that the campaign ignores racist police behavior and police brutality that have made some people feel unsafe around officers. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
New Starbucks in Five Points West makes history in acknowledging local history
A new Starbucks in Five Points West neighborhood of Birmingham, Ala. is making history. The location, situated in the Birmingham Crossplex Village, is giving a nod to the history of its new neighborhood by providing maps of the Civil Rights Trail — the first Starbucks in the country to do so. Starbucks chose to build in a store in once-flourishing working-class community that’s experienced decades of decline as part of their commitment to revitalizing low-to-medium income communities by creating meaningful jobs, providing in-store job-skills training programs for youth, and investing in local minority-owned contractors and suppliers. An emphasis on community engagement From the very beginning, the Five Points West location invested in the historic African-American neighborhood by hiring local minority-owned contractors and suppliers when building the store. According to Rodney Hines, Starbucks director of Community Investments for U.S. Retail Operations, the company strives to identify communities that have large opportunity gaps and a need for business engagement and investment, as well as the foundations for commercial success. “We considered the impact Starbucks can have in this community, and whether it is a viable site in terms of driving business for us and being profitable,” Hines said. “It’s the convergence of those two considerations – community impact and impact on business – that led to this site being right for us. It’s a residential community with a commercial corridor and a significant civic building – the Birmingham CrossPlex sports facility – that’s there for the county and the city.” Commitment to local youth The new Starbucks will also serve as an onsite “soft skills” training center as well. Part of the company’s strategy to make good on its commitment to hire 100,000 “opportunity youth” – age 16-24 with limited education and job prospects — the Five Points West location will provide them career and education opportunities. It has partnered with the Birmingham-based non-profit, the Dannon Project. — the group endeavors to help persons in transition, especially those with addictions on the road to recovery — to launch the life skills training program that will provide job skills training programs for young adults who are not in school or employed, according to Starbucks. The program will focus on “soft skills” like how to dress for work and understand employers’ expectations. “The new Starbucks in Five Points West is truly a collaborative project. Starbucks worked with a minority owned general contractor to build the store; partnered with The Dannon Project to launch a life skills training program for local youth; and will be the first Starbucks in the country to provide maps of the Civil Rights Trail,” the City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office posted on Facebook Wednesday.. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is personally signing praises for the store. “Kudos to Starbucks. This is the way you serve a community,” Woodfin posted on Faceebook. “We are honored to have Starbucks open in District 8 and engage the citizens in the entire City of Birmingham and surrounding areas. Our young people, especially, get to take advantage of the tools of outstanding workforce development and work ethic,” added Councilor Steven Hoyt.
Starbucks chairman questions country’s ‘moral fiber’
Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz says the events surrounding a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend have put the “moral fiber” of the country in question. Schultz said at an employee forum in Seattle on Tuesday that he has “profound concern about the lack of character, morality, humanity,” displayed at the rally, according to a recap of the meeting posted on Starbucks’ website. “The moral fiber, the values, and what we as a country have stood for is literally hanging in the abyss,” Schultz told employees. “We are at a critical juncture in American history. That is not an exaggeration. We are at and facing a crucible in which our daily life is being challenged and being questioned about what is right and what is wrong.” A throng of hundreds, mostly white men and many carrying guns, converged on the college town Saturday yelling anti-Semitic and racist slurs and carrying Confederate flags and neo-Nazi and KKK signs. A street fight broke out between them and counter-protesters, and a woman was killed and others injured when a man drove a car into people marching against the rally. After the violence, President Donald Trump was blasted for putting the blame on both sides and saying both sides included “very fine people.” Schultz was not a member of either of Trump’s two panels of business leaders that dissolved Wednesday after several CEOs stepped down in protest of Trump’s comments. And he told his employees Tuesday he’d let the actions and words of the president speak for themselves. “What we witnessed this past weekend … is against every sense of what is right,” he said. “My fear is not only that this behavior is being given permission and license, but its conduct is being normalized to the point where people are no longer hiding their face.” Telling employees he was speaking to them “as an American, as a Jew, as a parent, as a grandparent,” Schultz said it’s hard to remain optimistic about the country’s future “in the midst of such a storm,” but he still is. Starbucks and Schultz have been outspoken on social issues. Republish with permission of The Associated Press.
