There is No Unskilled Labor

country have skyrocketed. We have seen how racial incidents have been on the rise. We have witnessed reports from our very own intelligence officers who tell us that white domestic terrorism is the threat to our democracy and not foreign interference.

And so given all of that information, not to mention the erasure of black history that we are seeing in states like Florida, the gun violence and mass shootings and police killings that we see, the lynching that just occurred in New York City by a white man against a

black unhoused man. I mean, give me a fucking break, like I get it, Tim Scott, you should be proud of how high you've been able to rise in your own career given all of the realities that black people in this country live with, and to point those things out is not to live in a state of grievance. It's to live in the state of reality, right, and

not this fallacy that oh you too. If you just pretend that racism doesn't exist, and that your party is not the perpetuator of said racism and racist violence in this country, then all will be well, well, we can't all afford to live in the fantasy that Tam Scott announced in his speech this past week, but you know, bravo to him for trying. You know, folks, later this week we are also supposed to hear Ron death Santis' announcement unless he decides to continue to push that off

as well. And the man is as charismatic as I would assume a wet noodle. But Alisa, wet noodle can give you some type of stickiness in grit ron DeSantis gives you nothing. He fades on the national stage, and while he continues to legislate hate in Florida to all of the applause of his Republican sickophants, what he is selling in Florida is not going to be purchased by

the American people nationwide. Speaking of which Gavin Newsom, governor of California, has come out and has begun to point the finger and ask for the records from publishers in this country who publish the textbooks because they are contorting themselves to follow Ron DeSantis' lead. And the reality here, folks, is that publishers only publish one book. So if you think, just because you don't live in Florida or in Texas, that your kids are going to be receiving the quality

education that they need, think again. And I would hope that what Gavin Newsom is doing that maybe our own governor here in New York, Governor Hokeel, would maybe want to step in, being as how she presides over the largest public school system in the entire fucking country with

over a million kids. So if capitalism really does rule the day, then maybe the two most populous states with the largest public school systems should start to bring these publishers to fucking tasks on what it is that they are choosing to print and not to print, and let Florida flip the bill on their own version of American history and let that money come out of their state's pocket. Right.

Speaking of things coming out of folks pockets, Coming up next, my conversation with Starbucks worker and member of the Starbucks Union Michelle Eisen. We have a really great and frank conversation about what has happened to Starbucks. This company used to be revered as the new way to treat workers, referring to their workers as partners, giving them, you know, college credits and you know benefits and all of these things.

But as Starbucks began to take over the country, they started to focus less on employee satisfaction and employee pay in compensation and started to focus more on their shareholders and CEOs. And so we sit down with Michelle Eisen, who brings our attention to the ongoing legal battles and unionization that is happening at Starbucks stores across the country. That conversation is coming up next, folks. I am very happy to welcome to WOKF Daily for the very first time.

Michelle Eisen, who is an organizer for Starbucks Workers United, a barista in Buffalo, New York, and has been an advocate on the way in which Starbucks workers have united across the country to unionize, and you know it was funny. I went to your Twitter, Michelle, and I saw one of your pinned tweets from twenty twenty two from last year that said that Starbucks like happy anniversary to the fact that you went from zero unions to now. I just saw in a recent article three hundred stores across

the country are now unionized. So I just wanted to give you an opper tunity to open up and speak about how much things have shifted and how quickly they have shifted because of Starbucks workers united.

not only states that they are a better company, but has the resources. If any company in the world has the resources to pay their workers fairly and improve working conditions, it's a company like Starbucks. And what you're seeing on the CUSPO this you know, global pandemic, where Starbucks workers were,

you know, on the front lines. We were Starbucks stayed open, we were working customer facing positions for the entirety of the pandemic in you know, pretty deplorable conditions in some cases, for a company that could have afforded to take care of us better and just simply did not. And the result is what you're seeing. You're seeing workers saying, hey, something's not adding up. You know, this is a company that is boasting record breaking profits in the midst of

a global pandemic. Not just profits, but record breaking profits. And you've got a workforce that can't afford to pay their rent and put groceries in their fridge with the same paycheck. That's not adding up. And so what you're seeing right now is workers acknowledging that and realizing that their labor is incredibly valuable it is the company, and demanding that Starbucks show up and do better by us.

and we'll do these things. And so I want you to talk about how the public narrative of who Starbucks created its image to be and what the actuality was of those workers on the ground that many Americans, millly, tens and millions of Americans interfaced with on a daily basis.

we you know, the category we fall into. And you know, they were one of the first to offer things like benefits, eligibility for part time workers, which is where I come in. You know, I'm a production stage manager by trade. You know, a job and the arts in this country rarely comes with health benefits, and so I needed something that I could work part time that would supplement my income and

allow me to partake in health benefits. That's the whole reason I came to the company, you know, thirteen years ago almost And at that point, I think that they were the company that they professed to be, you know, or they worked really hard to be that company. They wanted to have a reputation for taking care of their workers. They wanted to have a reputation for caring about their communities and caring about the environment. But things started to slip.

You know, Greed becomes a huge factor. Capitalism is what it is, and you know, all of a sudden, they're really answering more to their shareholders than they are to their workforce. And that's what I saw as a worker. As a worker for over a decade, I saw these things that brought me to the company start to be slowly pulled away from the workers. You know, I saw my benefits packages they decreased in coverage and my cost increased for me. The kicker was twenty eighteen, so we're

pre pandemic right. Twenty eighteen, I broke my ankle. Now I've been working for the company for eight years at this point, I've been paying into my benefits the entire time. My benefits were so lackluster that I ended up paying for this entire angle break out of my pocket. You know, I had to pay out of my pocket with health insurance through this company. That's where I started questioning, kind of what a what am I still doing here? The only reason I came here is for these benefits, and

b what is happening? What is happening to this company? Why are these changes shifting? So what you're seeing as a company that's been able to ride out this reputation when there's not really anything to back it up anymore. And I think that's what the public really needs to see. What you are hearing. What you hear about Starbucks, the public narrative, the narrative that they want you to all believe it Maybe was the company at one point, but

lots of changes have happened. I just stopped into a store just this morning where I had contact with a worker from the very first store that I started at and she's been with the company now, you know, eleven years.

it's not the company used to be. And what you're seeing our workers like me recognizing that and saying, hey, can we help you get it back? Can we help you get your mission back on track? Can we help you get back to the place you were when people were seeking Starbucks out because it was a better company. And that's what I think I'd like people to realize.

We're not doing this because we hate Starbucks. We're doing this because we recognize what the company used to be and we want to get it back to that place. We want to get it back on track.

had no recourse. So the birth of unions, what right, was to give workers the ability to collective bargain, to be able to fight for conditions that were safe, that were clean, and pay that allowed them to work with dignity.

And so I want you to be able to talk to you know this kind of political divide with regard to the purpose and the place of unions, because you know, when I listened recently as Howard Schultz was was testifying, you would think that he was like a staunch Republican, and I was like blown away by the way that he was demonizing and saying that unions and unionizing is the problem with business in America. So I want to get your response to that.

They would be you know, they kind of they're you know, working class, and you know, you know, you got the American flag on their tailgate and next to their union strong.

bargaining table and negotiating a fair contract? And you know, they could have been a little tougher but there were some good questions ask and then you had the Republicans on the committee kind of praising him for you know, and patting him on the back, and I'm and I'm like, this can't possibly be what this man actually wants his legacy to be. This can't you know, like Okay, the general confusion of sitting in that room and seeing how

richolds who. You know, this is a man that right after the twenty sixteen election addressed all of his workers basically saying, listen, what happened yesterday is not what any of us wanted. This is not the person we wanted elected to run our country. And I want you to know that. You know, as a company, we're going to

protect you. We're going to take care of you know, our LGBTQ partners, we're going to take care of our you know, we're going to make sure that, no matter who's running the country, that this company takes care of you. And I remember thinking, Wow, this is this is a

good company to work for. This is a man who who is saying, doesn't matter what where the direction this country is going, and we're going to make sure as long as you work for this company that you're taking care of that is not the man I saw presenting himself at this hearing.

into to work every day. Don't you think I should be able to work forty hours a week for any company, but certainly for a company like Starbucks and be able to pay my bills on that salary and have a family on that salary, and you know, and the fact that anyone can stand up and say no, you don't deserve that.

landed you in this job. You know, and maybe you should have done better, or maybe you should go out and find something better. And what we're saying is why why does any job come does Every job should come with respect. Every worker should go into their place of employment, no matter what it is, and feel like they are

worth something. And to hear people say you don't deserve that because you know, you get up and put on a green apron every day and make lattes, it's kind of mind boggling to me because these are not starter jobs. There are millions of workers in the service industry and that's literally their income. That's how they make their living, and that's how they take care of themselves and their families.

And it's insane to me that people just think those workers are replaceable, you know, like a group of fifteen year olds can't run any business, and nor should they be expected to their children. There have to be seasoned workers in there that are, you know, running that place and taking people under their wing and training people. And it's just it's really infuriating to you know, we're just told to accept that this is what it is if you happen to work in the service industry.

with your friends and so in it. And I feel like I want to ask you, like, where did that fantasy or that ignorance come from? Because even I will say, in my own family, I've had to shift some of my family member's views on raising the minimum wage because in our community, it was, you know, the summer job was to go work at the grocery store. The summer job was to go and work in retail for a couple of months and then you head to college or you go back to high school or what have you.

And so they saw these young you know, these young kids at one time or another in these positions, and they're saying, well, why do they need fifteen dollars an hour? They're living at home, they don't have any bills, right, so can you can you burst that bubble for us or tell us where, where and why it originated to begin with.

you can train them to do that, you know, relatively quickly and they can hold that position. But to assume that these places are only made up of those people, it just doesn't frankly, doesn't make any sense. I mean, somebody has to be there to train these people. Somebody has to have been there long enough to you know, know, where things are, be able to do inventory, be able to place orders, be able you know. So it's just I think it's because there are places that allow people

to start you know, their working life there. But that doesn't mean that that place is solely made up of fifteen and sixteen year olds. So that's the only thing that I can think is that maybe that's where it

come from. Yeah, those are you know, dairy queen or you know, those kind of starter jobs that people because there's a way to get in there on the ground floor, and they'll they're willing to put in the training and sometimes it's minimal, especially if it's something where they know they're only going to have you for a few months. But in a case like Starbucks, I mean the skill level, you could not just pull someone off the street and stick them in a green apron behind that counter and

expect things to run smoothly. It would be a massive disaster. You know, you're you're aside from a safety issue, I mean, you're dealing with very hot liquid, you're dealing with all sorts of machinery and all sorts of things that are constantly breaking down and have to be repaired.

couple of high school kids who were there. Now, I should note that's a very clear shift in Starbucks hiring as well. You don't have to really go into that, but if you want to look at how the business model of Starbucks as a whole has shifted. When I started with the company, we didn't hire anybody under the age of eighteen for a multitude of reasons.

this coffeehouse experience. That's why I opened Starbucks. I wanted people to come in and have this be their third place. You know, you've got your home, you've got your work, and this is your Starbucks, your third place where you can come and hang out and do work and read a book. But guess what, I'm actually moving away from that model now. Now I'm going to you know, grab and go where I don't really care if you have an experience, come in and you know, spend your money

and leave. Clearly, that's not what he said in those words, but that's the gist of it. It's he himself is moving away from this sort of you know, what the company would call customer connection, which I think is is huge and it should tell you exactly where what kind of what side of the line they're falling on. It's come in and give your you know, make your purchase, give them money, and then if your experience is subpart, well, you know, we already have your money. So it's just

it's sad. And it's not the company that I started working for. And it's actually not the company that he founded, you know, it's not the company that he runs around saying is you know, the be all and end all of the service of the service industry and of the coffee industry. And so if we can somehow collectively as the workers come together and you know, by demanding better for ourselves, inevitably make the company better, it's a win

win situation. And I think that's what is still so shocking to me, is that it's being fought so hard, but for what reason. No one's been able to give us a concrete reason as to why this shouldn't be. You know, Starbucks could do an about face tomorrow and you know, really come to the table and really bargain a fair contract with these workers, and the world would applaud them. You know, they would be would they say there, you know, they'd set the standard for the service industry,

which they've done time and time again. Most people would forget all of the egregious labor law violations, which are in the thousands at this point, you know, most of us. Not me, and certainly not the two hundred plus fired workers who have been fired for trying to organize their Starbucks, but most of the world would be like, look at Starbucks. Look at how amazing they are respecting their worker's right to organize and negotiating a fair contract. The public loves

to see. I mean, we're at a point where the public likes to see employers take care of their workers. You know, they like to support businesses who are doing

the right thing. We just saw Ben and Jerry's. We just saw that, you know, Ben and Jerry's shop in Vermont, file and the company came out and said, hey, not only are we going to respect us labor law, but we're going to sign a non interference agreement, essentially saying we're going to stand back and allow this union election to go through without trying to come in and you know, illegally change things and sort of push things in our favor.

And if the union wins, we're going to bargain a fair you know, we're going to sit down and bargain a fair contract. And everyone was like, this is amazing. You know, go Ben and Jerry's.

wants to be on the wrong side of history. You can't look at what's going on here and say Starbucks is on the right side of this fight.

early bargaining bargaining sessions. I use air quotes for those of you who can't see me, because there wasn't really any actual bargaining going on. But he took things that the union was asking for, and he went and granted those benefits, things like credit card tipping, which the company had never had before. The union asked for it, but he said, I'm going to give you all these benefits, but I'm not going to give them to the unionized workers.

I'm going to give these benefits to the non union workers.

our workplace. So if you are around a unionized store or a store that you've heard is unionizing, and you can come in and you know, patronize that store and you know, tell the workers that are doing a good job, throw an extra five in the tip jar or something along those lines, I would highly, highly recommend that the other thing is just getting the word out there that this is happening and that the company is not behaving in the way that the company, you know, a company

like Starbucks should be behaving. You know, there are egregious acts of labor law violation that are in litigation some have already been they've been found guilty of and you know, now it's just the long court process of what are the remedies for that. It's been really hard to be,

you know, a worker doing this. But what's hopeful is that, in spite of the way that the company has reacted, in spite of the way they're treating their workers who are trying to organize, there are stores filing union petitions every every week. We still have workers who are brave enough to join this fight and say, you know what, we know what's going to come at us because we've

watched it happen. I don't know if I would have been brave enough to do this if I wasn't at the first store, if I had been at Store one hundred and I'd seen what the company had done to the workers who were for unionizing, what I've been brave enough to stand up and say I'm still going to join this fight. There are hundreds of Starbucks workers still choosing to join this fight, you know, every month, in

spite of the way the company is reacting. And I think if that isn't you know, the epitome of hopeful and hope for this new sort of frontier of of the labor movement.

Dear friends on WOKAF as always power to the people and to all the people power, Get woke and stay woke as fuck.