Baristas on Strike
On the Picket Line in Gilbert
Last month, I met with members of Starbucks Workers United in Gilbert, Arizona. In recent years, the union and federal labor prosecutors have accused Starbucks of unfair labor practices, including retaliatory store closures, surveillance of union organizers and the firing of union supporters, amid an ongoing effort by workers at more than 600 U.S. stores to negotiate their first contracts.
Sen. Ruben Gallego joined the picket line, handing out breakfast burritos from a local restaurant and voicing support for the workers. Speaking to reporters about Starbucks’ labor practices and broader concerns over corporate power, Gallego said, “This is the stuff that happens when corporate power does not want to give way to worker power.”
