Eric Lee: I'd like a large latte, a muffin and a union card, please & other info

[Omaha Steve]

In this week's mailing:

* "I'd like a large latte, a muffin and a union card, please"
* The funniest union video I've seen in a while
* Workers in Russia and New Zealand thank you
* On the global waterfront - the fight to free the Charleston 5

"I'd like a large latte, a muffin and a union card, please"

Workers in coffee chains like Starbucks are notoriously difficult to unionize. But that's not stopping unions from trying -- and winning -- in some unlikely places.

The IUF is running an international campaign in support of workers in a Tel Aviv branch of Coffee Bean and has asked for all of us to take a minute and send off a message in support of the workers who have been on strike for a week now.
Click here to send a message: http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/campaigns/show_campaign.cgi?c=318

Meanwhile the efforts by the venerable Industrial Workers of the World to unionize Starbucks have gotten a lot of mainstream media attention lately, including a major article in The New York Times.

The funniest union video I've seen in a while

This had me laughing out loud - What have the unions ever done for us?

(It helps if you're familiar with the film "Life of Brian".)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=184NTV2CE_c

If you've seen an online video that's pro-union and as good as this one, let me know.

Workers in Russia and New Zealand thank you

Trevor Hanson, General Secretary of the Maritime Union of New Zealand, thanked us for our recent online campaign. "As you will be aware," he wrote, "the union was successful in preventing the loss of jobs and conditions through a contracting out process to an anti-union employer. Around 100 jobs are secure for now with proper union coverage ... The international response to our battle was the deciding factor, with our international affiliate the ITF providing much assistance. The LabourStart email campaign was an effective part of the dispute for us. It provided a boost for the local workers, publicized our dispute internationally, and caused a reaction from the employers who initially demanded the emails stop, but by the end of the dispute were asking more politely."

Mikhail Chesalin, Chairman of the Dockers' Union of Russia, Kaliningrad Local, wrote: "I want to thank you for your support of our campaign for workers' rights in the port of Kaliningrad, and in protest of the attack on me this past June. Because of the global solidarity and commitment of thousands of trade unionists and activists like yourselves, we were able to mount an unprecedented flow of protest into the Kaliningrad Sea Commercial Port, and the Kaliningrad regional power structure ... We were able to force the authorities to deal with union rights with at least a modicum of care and decency, and given the climate here, that is a significant achievement. We were even able to force the reopening of the investigation into the attack on me, after the authorities cynically tried to close the case."

On the global waterfront - the fight to free the Charleston 5

On the Global Waterfront tells the story of longshoremen in South Carolina who confronted attempts to wipe out their union and rallied the nation and labour around the world in their successful fight. It's our book of the week, and by purchasing copies you help support LabourStart. Thanks.

Eric Lee