Thanks, Robert, for bringing these young leaders in and giving them a platform. They bolster my hopes for humanity. Bless them and their righteous cause! Stay healthy everyone!!
Secretary Reich is the only person that I can confidently give a thumbs up without even knowing the subject of his discussion. I tested this. I agree with him 100% of the time on any issue he posts blindfolded. It’s a bad thing to say as a juror but it’s his pure love of human rights and justice with advice today, is very hard to find
It's okay. Ignorance is curable. Learn some basic economics, history, law and unbiased political science and your opinion of Reich will rapidly approach 100% the other way. He is perhaps the biggest congenital liar online, including on this issue. for example.
@@rezadaneshi To the contrary, all I did was explain why you should learn those topics, which you clearly have not. Economics shows the minimum wage to result inly in disemployment, most notably job loss. That's an empirical fact but Reich - not an economist - pretends otherwise. Unions were in no way responsible for higher pay, better working conditions, the shorter work week, the eight hour day, the effective end of child labor - all beginning before union power came into being in this country. That's an historical fact but Reich pretends otherwise. It is actually impossible to underpay workers in the (abundantly evident) competitive market for labor - as has been empirically demonstrated even in company mining towns in the 19th century. That, too, is a fact, but Reich pretends otherwise. He pretends that the filibuster is unconstitutional which is factually wrong. He pretends that gerrymandering by Republicans is somehow different from decades of the exact same actions by Democrats which is obviously delusional. There are so many lies coming out of Reich's mouth - pretty much everything he says that I couldn't fit them in a thousand comments. And people who are not economically, historically and practically illiterate have absolutely no problem seeing them. I can give as much source material that you'd like. As just the tip of the iceberg on but one of the issues - the minimum wage - you can start by checking out the four most comprehensive reviews of the research (all available online): the US Minimum Wage Study Commission; Brown, Gilroy & Kohen; Neumark & Wascher (2007) and Neumark & Shirley (2021). They find that nearly 80% of the research finds the minimum wage to be entirely harmful; nearly 20% is inconclusive and the tiny fraction that remains (Card & Kreuger; Schmitt et al; Doucouliagos & Stanley; the stuff from Michael Reich and Andrijat Dube's fantasy workshop) have pretty much all been completely shredded. There does not exist a means in economics (in which Reich has no expertise) under which a minimum wage could possibly be beneficial (as it defies something as basic as the Law of Demand and the only attempt to make such an argument - monopsony - has been empirically disproven). That's just a tiny fraction of the abundant evidence that completely refutes but one of Reich's endlessly repeated canards. I'm happy to provide as much actual real world evidence, economics and history demonstrating that Reich is a liar and buffoon easily debunked by understanding of the issues he lies about but there is so very much that I can provide, you'll have to be specific about which item you'd like to address first. Hopefully I can provide some understanding of these issues to you and, as I began, you'll see that Reich's utterances are complete BS as well.
We need more people capable of creating jobs. Why not open a shop and pay the Big Bucks? Be the hero, I will be the first to congratulate you. What is holding you back? Surely a man of your business savvy and drive can make it happen. (I've been down that road, and when you fail I will explain where you went wrong.)
And will you pay more for a union cup of coffee? Dunkin Donuts is ecstatic. They are banking on the fact that this will price some consumers out of the Starbucks brand. Starbucks closed over 100 stores since unions started invade their business.
@@1Skeptik1 Its set by lowest bar fact is I work in industry that is lots of small owners construction. And its a multitude of things. But low quality low cheating taxes not having proper licenses shitty materials. Bigger companys getting bulk pricing on materials etc. Fact is you could be fast as hell have most bad ass crew paying mediocre amounts and still get undercut by 50%. Fact is low bar sets the bar being responsible half decent human being is hard. I stayed in industry by niche custom work. Stuff I did was so complex/custom one job where people "kept going with low bid" had 10 crews show up actually look at blueprints and go I don't know how to build that before we did it. It was essentially a rounded deck that levered out 30ft and had bench as custom rail. And we didn't even make that much 15-20hr per guy. Which was about same as rest of industry in our area. BUT we didn't have to pump out high volume garbage and we paid our taxes. That said we were never overtaking industry we just find a nice little corner to slowly die in. But even that over years became so inequitable we went into other industrys as pay was just never going to be great. Unless we hired a bunch of people stole from them and left them and familys without healthcare and pumped out high volume garbage and forced owners to live with it or spend decades in uphill legal battles. Its same with any business fact is I open a competing coffee shop lets say get it all worked out start accelerating its a great product people love it employees are well taken care of. Starbucks and competitors wont like that workers are compensated fairly. They will spend millions if not billions on ads oversaturate areas (which was how they got so big) operate at a loss. Till one of us runs out of money hint hint it wont be them. Then when competition in this case me dies out close 3 out 4 stores. Then hit me with legal suits and frivolous stuff to further drain pocket book. AND fund smear campaigns in form of astroturfing etc. And thats even pretending like we can compete when they own entire line of distribution. From the beans to the cups use unethical forms of outsourcing and other things. And can negotiate for better rates with few things like merchant transaction fees and health insurance companys. If that wasn't enough of a barrier to compete in any meaningful way you can't have a single location. By having so many locations and brand recognition. A better cup for a better price wont do shit. Without a billion dollar marketing plan and billion dollar in getting thousands of locations etc etc. People are going to place they know name and has one 2 minutes closer because city has 50 starbucks. Its illusion of competition fact is they bury competition by operating at a loss with oversaturation and then dial it back. And even if all else fails when I go big multi national and become publicly traded they will short a billion dollars of stock and tank stock prices and then do a hostile take over. Gut employee pay benefits and pretend like there is a option besides starbucks. While it would then be starbucks in all but name one.
@@youtubesucks1499 that's not gonna happen what's gonna happen is the money used for stock buybacks making their investors rich will be invested in employees who do the real job
Robert, thank you for hosting this discussion. I feel like so many customer service workers would love to hear this, especially if they ever begin unionizing, almost like a handbook of what to expect. And it's explained so clearly! So thankful for their voices, great work everyone!
Maybe this will inspire the UFCW to take back the power they once had. It has been gutted and pillaged by corporations who have so much power that the UFCW is a joke. I was a teenager when I joined that union and I made more than minimum wage I remember when the union provided representation and fought to get cost of living raises. Over the past 30 years benefits have decreased wages have stagnated and if I where working in that industry I could not pay my rent with one weeks paycheck like I once could. It now takes 3 weeks pay to cover rent. Does nobody but me see something very wrong with this? There is virtually no competition in the sector. A handful of giant corporations control the industry. They get together and meet to have a united front that insures their power dynamic is not disrupted. Since our Monopoly laws are not enforced they can and do control the industry. Our corrupt political system allows it to continue because our politicians are bought and paid for by these companies. Politicians are prostitutes the sell their Ass to corporations and in return suck their dicks to ensure that the corporate elite are not disturbed. They keep the sheep in line and in fear. There is power in numbers and people are starting to realize this. That's why there is a shortage of qualified workers who have left the workforce. When you realize your worth it takes away their power. Fight the Power speak truth to power don't become a sheep
@@jeffedgel9082 Monopolization is popular in the US. A similar tactic is taken with mandatory arbitration. They used to use that alternative to courts to settle disputes between businesses, but now they use it in every contract, employment, customer, everything. We're all being treated as smaller "businesses" in a dispute resolution system where the deepest pockets pick the arbitrators.
These young ladies are inspirational good for them. The fact that the CEO received 14.6 million compensation is obscene. The focus needs to be also on the shareholders that encourage these obscene behaviour, by saying nothing, the people that sit back and profit from this obscenity.
Actually, the Starbucks CEO earned a total of $20.5 million last year (including $1.61 mil. in direct salary; $14.76 million in increased stock value - which he earned as investor, not as CEO; per se - $4.03 million in incentives, related to his increases in the stock value to investors overall and $.03 million in :other compensation). How is that "obscene" and why is it relevant here? Do you think - even though it is objectively false and economically illiterate ... like Reich - that there is any connection between what the CEO makes and what other employees make? Do you think - even though it is objectively false and economically illiterate ... like Reich - that these young ladies or their coworkers are "underpaid"? Why should shareholders object to policies that make them more money, make them wealthier (poor performance in the prior year had more to do with a pandemic than anything else) and create jobs that give nearly 250,000 people the (fully compensated) opportunity to improve their condition in life? My retirement account mutual funds own some of Starbucks stock and the better performance than many companies during the first year of pandemic and better performance since shouldn't encourage that behavior because ... why exactly?
@@FletchforFreedom you remind me of Mr. Creosote (The meaning of life). 🤣🤣 You sit back in your chair let others do the nasty work whilst others are underpaid and treated badly. Judging by your name "Freedom" refers to your flat earth, anti-vax, self, self, self endeavours. Whilst in your case it seems impossible 🤔 grow a conscience. Take note of Mr. Creosote you might just emulate his demise one day!
@@FletchforFreedom There's a great book called Jennifer Government by a fella named Max Barry, I suspect you may enjoy it. I've always wondered about places like Starbucks. You said they employ 250,000 staff, but if Starbucks didn't exist and all those coffee shops were independent small businesses would they 1) employ more staff in total because they aren't as streamlined, and 2) would the coffee shops pay more tax cumulatively because they can't offshore most of their profits? I don't have any data or idea which it would be, just wondering out loud. However, I do know that Starbucks failed in Australia because the coffee culture is very high grade and that there are a plethora of independent small business coffee shops not seen to the same degree in Starbucks friendly countries.
@@davespanksalot8413 Actually, I found it to be overhyped and a bit ridiculous, I'm a huge fan of fantasy and SF but the suspension of disbelief stops when people act in ways that could never happen. Barry's a witty writer (and more concise than I am) but I just couldn't swallow the underlying premises (primarily corporatocracy). Tastes differ but I very much appreciate the recommendation. In the matter of tastes, if I were the typical customer, Starbucks(and the independents you mention) would never survive - I've never been a coffee drinker. Economists frequently engage in counterfactuals to best envision what would happen in the absence of a given economic event - in my research typically as to what would happen in the absence of a minimum wage increase. Of course, we cannot know for certain what would have existed in the absence of Starbucks but there are a few things we can say with certainty. First, whether or not more or different people would have been employed or how much they paid in taxes is irrelevant to the issue. That someone else might have hypothetically done better does not erase the actual accomplishments. Second, while we cannot say for certain what would otherwise have happened, what we can say with certainty is that Starbucks, were it gas prospered, did a better job of meeting consumer needs than did any of the alternatives that were actually available and the same can be said for the independents in your area. By definition, we are all at least economically better off, strictly from a utilitarian perspective, better off with the presence of both Starbucks here and the independents there than under any other achievable scenario. And, finally, no such alternative changes the facts that a) the CEO was rewarded for increasing the value to shareholders (including those, like me, with shares in retirement accounts) and b) it is literally impossible in the (abundantly evident) competitive market for labor to underpay workers and what the CEO makes has no bearing or connection to what anyone else in the company makes. i must say. based on what little I know, you have great taste in music.
@@FletchforFreedom I have great taste in music? Thank you and I think I do too, but I’m unsure as to how you know?! But that aside, I suppose the crux of my what-ifs was to very tangentially ponder on the national interest needs met by large corporates that do what corporates do which is seeking profits while unloading costs, usually onto the public purse (just think of all the mine site rehabilitation expenses that are left to the public system after mining companies bail on their responsibilities). I think it’s a relevant consideration in the context of political rhetoric around being a responsible citizen. As for CEO remuneration, I think the main takeaway from ever increasing pays is more a metric for the health of society given that the income gap between the highest incomes versus the lowest is usually a usable proxy for division and inequality in society at large (I’m not saying CEOs pays are responsible, but rather a marker).
I’m from Australia and I’m a member of the AMWU we went out on strike through November and December of last year after the company didn’t want to give us a pay rise and because bad occupational health and safety now we’ve got what we wanted and have a stronger union, stick in there and fight! Solidarity 👊
I pray so. Amazon and Walmart need to allow this too. A happy worker is a productive worker and one that makes customers happy. Starbucks is making enough money to pay its employees well instead of treating them like robots.
Thank you Mr. Reich for giving these courageous women a platform to express their solidarity with a strong labor movement; and to expose the shallow charade of neoliberalism, perpetrated by pseudo-woke corporatists, who are trying to rebrand their trickle-down economics with empty corporate slogans.
8:45 This sounds exactly like an abusive partner, trying to cut you off from outside support and saying that you owe everything to them, you are nothing without them.
@@thoughtfortheday7811 FDR was absolutely right - not about economics private sector unions (his actions along those lines made the Depression "Great") - in that he understood government unions would be (as they are) disastrous.
Stay strong amid the "surveillance" .As a union tradesman for 35 years at General Motors Canada , I'm aware of the disadvantages of nonunion workplaces .If my company "bent" the provincial workplace guidelines regarding safety rules , hazardous working conditions without proper equipment , progressive discipline and firing by supervisors who didn't like you , breaks and lunch time allowances etc, then the union rep would do the due diligence with the company , or deal with the Provincial ( or state ) department to file complaints .In Michigan , a "right to work " State ) they are union busting with a vengeance , even though Detroits auto industry made that town and state great at one time .In GM bankruptcy restructuring ,CEO Rick Wagoner got the golden handshake of $25,000,000 and a huge pension , and the workers ........Oh well !
i am so glad that young people are finally seeing that if they want a quality life, the only chance they have is to unionise and stand together. Stay strong! Customers should say they will boycott if the store is not union. Bright Moments!!!!
@@555atU Why do people not want to be in unions. The benefits are protection from unfair practices from employers, the ability to negotiate for group insurance discounts. Health insurance, home , auto, injury insurance . Create a credit union which functions as a bank which actually gives low rent loans and has high yield savings accounts etc. People need to be shown the benefits. i get everything I just mentioned plus free legal service and more. The idea is that banding together forms a stronger position to negotiate one´s needs in the market .
@@bobblues1158 in my opinion...private unions don't serve much purpose anymore, union bosses have been indicted, and people don't want to pay the dues for something they don't trust. They've been political slush funds for Democrats and many of their members aren't Democrats anymore. People have also been forced into paying union dues because it was required to be in a union where right to work wasn't in place. Most of the benefits you mentioned are available through company benefits anyway. If people want to unionize, fine....but lots of people don't need or want them. But not all unions are a negative...the carpenter's union comes to mind as a positive to help ensure standards and training.
Hypocrisy he makes 309k teaching 1 class a few hours a week. What pension will he get teaching to hate america. Maby cut professors pay and pensions and give more money to baristas.
@@tomdemeo2708 You are incredibly deluded regarding how little pay and job security many professors have these days coupled with the pressure to continue publishing while teaching and mentoring. Especially when their pay and benefits are compared with the monstrous profits many American universities make and pay to their non-professorial administrators.
It's good to see young adults embracing unions, better pay, benefits, and respect, the unions should be all over this movement, and not let up, help these people and let others see the real benefits of being a union member, and it may just catch on nation wide.
Well, will the consumer pay union prices for overpriced, overrated coffee? Ultimately, its the consumer that will determine if the union is a success or not. The cost of union will be passed on to the consumer. So if the guy who pours a cup of coffee makes $20 an hour plus benefits.... how much extra will a latte cost? And will people pay it?
@@youtubesucks1499 Yes and no I mean record profits record ceo compensation. Maybe markets will decide will gougers that pass the buck to consumers do better or will companys that take a dip to compensate workers without hurting consumers be the ones that consumers choose. Fact is this happens in other countrys there are mcdonalds that pay workers 22hr and give six weeks vacation and full 100% healthcare. And bigmac cost 50 cents more. With other places maybe it will be a wakeup call to stop the whole under 30hrs randomized last minute shifts all while paying unlivable wages denying bathroom breaks and even doing shit that pretty much free just because we like our "unworthy workers" to stand for 12hrs. Like last one is a wierd thing in most countrys the whole making cashiers stand. Which not only leads to health issues (which they do not provide or provide piss poor insurance) whether its first world or third world rest of world thinks were assholes on that account. But right now workers have been pushed to brink people have been born raised and started working all without min wage increase. And irony is cunts like yourself don't realize your getting screwed too. But your happy as long as you can kick down at workers you deem undeserving of living wage and dignity for full time employment. Since 1938 when min wage was implemented till about 1985 min wage vs average rent was 50-80hrs of labor. With 50hrs being years of increase and 80hrs being years where it was 5-6yrs since a increase. Now today it takes a 190hrs to pay average rent even at 15hr still more than 90hrs to pay your rent. To be on par with fresh increase year min wage worker and pay it in 50hrs you would have to earn 26hr. And rents not even highest cost of living item since 1970 rent went up 1300% buying home 1700% tuition 2800% and healthcare 3200%. Your likely likely in the majority of Americans that make less than 26 but if your feeling cheery dont similar losses are throughout pretty much any wage earning person. And its been siphoned by those at time while number of billionaires grew workers wages shrunk while deficits exploded so did number of multi billionaires and billion dollar company's that paid zero taxes. While also receiving on average 2-3 times in subsidy or bailouts than was spent on any form of social services or infrastructure. Which ironically if you can't connect dots that richest people also have most employees on welfare. And see how its almost like taxpayers are subsidizing their workers wages so they can pocket a unprecedented amount of wealth creating inequality not seen since gilded age. Then your obstinately blind or willfully so because your one of one profiting off workers poverty. Want to know cause of supply chain issues not finding workers. People are withdrawing almost all of consumerism in order to withdraw their labor from market. Fact is whats better as a worker a apartment shared with 5-6 people that you only see during 6-8hrs you get between shifts. And despite this still not affording healthcare retirement or reaching any financial goals. Why not live in a van down by the river work 1 day a month doing day labor or gig work and pay insurance fuel but have time to spend with friends family read books. And its not just that there is a multitude of ways people are choosing to have less. In order to have more fulfilling lifes. Fact is during covid many people were forced to do with out realized shit circumstance of facing deadly disease for corporate profits and still barely being able to live. After decades of work hard it will get better this is a fluke a one in million case people got sick of it. Me personally I have been selling everything living off the savings I was fortunate to have and if place wont pay me a wage I can live off of with a health work life balance. Screw it van down by the river for me. Why work if your hungry or in pain and cant see a doctor. But I do recommend looking at your expenses over time comparing them to wages. And unless your in 1% chances are it takes more of your labor to pay your basic expenses like rent food healthcare than it did when you first started. Thats what got me is I do trades and every year year after year I either cut a goal or removed it entirely. And despite getting more certification moving up. I found that I was worse off than when I started as a basic laborer 20yrs ago with no experience than I was a foreman with multiple certifications and decades of experience.
My warmest congratulations to your new union. Seek the support of your sisters and brothers in older trade unions from Europe. I think the swedish LO has the resources to help you in the beginning. good luck
I want to unionize my Starbucks, but I don’t even know where to begin. Where should I start? I believe in the working class and I dream that one day we will be able to overcome every barrier put in our path by the 1%, but it’s so difficult to stand up for yourself when you’re alone. I believe unions are the way, but I’m fearful of being fired in retaliation. Any advice?
Contact Starbucks Workers United! They have a Twitter and an email that you can reach out to. Also, if you have a starbucks near you that has already filed a petition you can hop on over and ask. I know a lot of people would be willing to help!
They can’t fire you for wanting to unionize. They won’t make that mistake. They will fire you for something else that they make up. But the best thing you can do is contact the labor union that these young women are a part of. The union will back you and protect you.
Let’s get them it’s sad to see all the people that have been buffaloed into believing that the corporate top elite are the best and need to be taken care of it’s time to break the backs like our grandfathers dead after the great depression let’s get them girls
You Guys are legends! Keep up the Great work. Here in Australia Unions have been slowly dismantled and working conditions and pay have been eroded substantially due less Union membership and Union Bashing by Government and Business.
One thing that we could do as customers is make those managers taking up space in the store to move. Most stores are generally full of customers that I go to, if there is a manager taking up a seat they should get up and leave. "Make them move campaign!" I love the product, they could afford to treat employees better though. Thanks Robert! Thanks Starbucks employees!
When I worked for union organization for flight attendants at Delta Airlines we faced similar tactics. Great company - except for that. The decline of unions since the 1980s has greatly contributed to income inequality.
So many big corporations cry poor when it comes to taking care of their employees, but they let it rain when it comes to lavish perks and bonuses for the CEO and top executives, along with stock buybacks to make the company look more profitable and line the pockets of the one percent.
There ought to be a LABOR UNION for all "fast food" (and "fast coffee") employees. People who work for grocery stores have one... why not one for workers who take orders and serve prepared food to walk-through or drive-through customers?
These young people are visionaries. They see the direction that big business is going and they want a voice at the table to protect workers' rights in the long run. Of course corporate is sending their office personnel to the actual stores to intimidate and harass the actual workers on the front line, on their feet all day, interacting with customers and doing the actual labor that keeps this business going. I've seen it all before. We used to call them the carpet people who were sitting on their butts all day, chit chatting, on their phones or laptops, taking hour long lunches or more, making a living wage plus with so many added benefits. While at the same time a wage freeze was happening for those on the floor, our benefits were being cut or our out of pocket costs for medical were going sky high. We were being increasingly watched, our half hour lunch breaks monitored closely with no place to eat a meal within that time. Yet, we were supposed to expedite the process, work faster, produce more and oftentimes train people from other nations where our jobs were being outsourced to. It created a toxic workplace. I'm so proud of these young people for standing firm under these pressures. Once they get what they are asking for, I may actually find a Starbucks and fork over the price for a cup of coffee.
Yet another superlative presentation! Thank you Robert. Let us hope that Starbucks is just the beginning of a looooooong overdue Worker's Renaissance. Keep up the good work Mr. Secretary!!!
Heroes. Too bad America is too stupid to understand the need for strong unions & worker representation at the corporate board level. Germany gets it... and look, they still have a healthy manufacturing sector!
@@waderidsdale402 Their unions are still very healthy and their companies are required to have labor representation at the executive level. Worker rights are strongly protected. Six weeks paid vacation per year, excellent other benefits as well. It's worker paradise compared to the USA.
Except, of course, that the US manufacturing sector has never been stronger (as opposed to manufacturing employment) and the myth of unions providing material benefit to workers has long been shredded by objective fact.
@@FletchforFreedom euhm, where has that been shredded? It's the USA unions that aren't doing well. European unions are doing just fine. And the reason for that is that unions in Europe are more regulated, but also more supported by laws. In the USA unions are more free to do what they want and that leads to more corruption and bad management. An example is how unions in Europe are generally not job specific. So unions look at the bigger picture when issues show up instead of putting different types of workers against eachother. It's also mandatory for companies with more than 15 employees to hold union elections. (This means that employees of Starbucks in Europe already have union representation)
@@Robbedem Your response is a huge non sequitur. None of the points you've made address the initial statement. Research shows that unions provide, on average, a 2% wage premium (largely offset by 1/3% in union dues) largely at the cost of fewer jobs, reduced job security and incentives for automation. That reads to me like no material benefit (see "What Do Unions Do?" and "What Do Unions Do?: A Twenty Year Retrospective") Beyond that, the myth that unions were responsible for the gains workers have achieved in this country doesn't bear scrutiny. In the US in the 19th century, in the complete absence of labor laws and before the rise of union power (after 1880) real wages *QUADRUPLED,* working conditions improved dramatically, the average work week was slashed by a third and continued to fall, the 8-hour day came into existence and began becoming widely available, starvation was effectively eliminated and child labor, which had approached 100% (agrarian society) plummeted to fewer than 1-in-3 boys and 1-in-8 girls and continued to fall (the remainder still overwhelmingly employed on family farms). As for European unions, iy is no accident that Americans are better paid than they are and that unemployment is generally lower. Those "benefits" come at a cost. We are endlessly given the example of the $20/hr fats food worker but, because they have so increased the minimum cost of labor, their economy supports only a quarter as many such workers per capita and workers are then pushed into hobs not covered by union negotiation (which every last one of those countries have). I stand by my initial statement.
I’m convinced that there is more power in organized labor than there is at the ballot box. We need to agitate for unions across the country from the grassroots on up.
Capitalism obligates unionization. Why would a person who lives in a so-called “democracy” feel powerless? That feeling prompted Starbucks workers to begin to unionize. Management is trying to hamper their efforts to do so. Starbucks’ profit is enormous at almost 21 billion dollars in 2021, but that, of course, stays at the 1% management level. Unions are only an imperative, when a nation’s economic system only benefits 1% of her citizens. When a nation’s economic system is already designed to benefit all of her citizens, workers’ unions become meaningless. Even if the United States achieves 76% unionization, and creates a comparable welfare state like Sweden, we should still continue to struggle towards socialism. Capitalism, as Starbucks has shown, is the antithesis of democracy. Socialism is the perfect match for democracy!
"You may picket for things which our customers support, you may not picket for things our workers support (even if customers support them too)." - Someone in Starbucks, probably.
“Buddy can you spare a dime.” I’m old enough to remember when a dime could buy a cup of coffee. Starbucks certainly changed the price of coffee, time to share the wealth.
I hope the baristas keep fighting. I hope the baristas win. Corporations are too powerful. This surfeit of corporate power has made corporations immoral and unethical.
At least they get stock options while working for Starbucks, when Dunkin’ Donuts had it’s stock public nobody had stock options .. now those are the people that should be unionizing lol
A guy named Jimmy Patison (spelling ?) said in a book that he could find 5% wastage of money spent in any company that he purchased. I think any CEO or member of the board of Directors could afford to tighten their financial belt by 5% per year and PAY the employees more ! Or start real benefit programs .
@@FletchforFreedom If you lack compassion and any sort of care about a functional society.....Why should we get a shit what your opinion is? Here is a tip. Watch his videos. don't just show up to comment.
@@Frostfly Where do you get the notion that I lack compassion?!?!? I fully care about the most vulnerable among us! This is expressly why I so oppose Reich's nonsense, particularly minimum wage laws and unions! The fiction that these are beneficial to workers has long been completely disproved. I have been watching Reich's videos for years. Some morons actually believe this idiot is an economist!
The empty chair at the Starbucks board meeting is so telling. In the EU that chair is occupied by a worker. The US can't even bring its workforce to the table.
Starbucks has been full of horsetrump from the very beginning. Back in the late 1980s, they brought on a VP for operations who insisted on firing their Director of Human Resources because he didn't want to work with women. That woman is still around -- Hermosa Beach, I think -- if you want to interview her.
If you work for a multinational that tries to prevent you from creating a union, just dump them and search for a better employer. There's never been a better time to negotiate a living wage, thanks to Covid that has given employees time to realize that they've been exploited for decades. Thank you Prof. Reich for everything you do to educate the masses and show them how to demand better condition ... United we stand !!
Wow, sounds familiar - we are more than 3 years in now on our drive. Watch the video follow up to this. Been there done that, heard it, said it. Amazing how similar the story always is. Good luck you guys I am with you!!
Graveyard shift manager and counter person at Dunkin Donuts once confided me .... Gross margins on a plain cup of Joe, before overhead, franchise fees .... One thousand per cent ( 1,000%!). That is not even the fancy beverages. Pastries account for 50%. There is a lot of money in coffee. Not your Joe served at a local dinner , with several refills . Little wonder ole Starbucks picks the best locations , no free refills, no wage concessions. And all US stores are corporate. Lots of money in this racket
It’s not that management shouldn’t be paid more than workers. It’s not that the leaders of a company aren’t more important than workers. It’s the idea that a multi-billion dollar corporation is allowed to have workers leading miserable lives and tell them they should be grateful it isn’t worse. How is this justifiable? If America truly believes in the American dream and giving a path to success for even its lowest skilled citizens, this current system is anathema to those ideals.
I worked in the Food Service Industry for 40 years. A graduate of CIA, I never imagined the negative impact of illegal Immigration until my graduation day 3/7/1993. I could not get a job anywhere unless I wanted to accept the very low wages of the illegals already hired. There was no leverage back then. Unions are built when the power dynamic is unbalanced. I’ve scraped, and wept about my 40 years of poverty. Struggling with my responsibility to pay back loans and as a result joined the military to cook and bake for the Navy special missions for $ 11.56 an hour. 8 days a week , 17 hours a day 10 months out of the year. After an injury on a mission, I was forced to leave. My pension is $434 a month. My health benefits $582 a month. I applauded you for paying attention to the wage disparity in the country you live in, and the desire to demand better everything. It’s overdue, but still a great accomplishment.
University of California-Berkeley professor Robert Reich has often complained about the high pay of CEOs. Reich, who was the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1993 to 1997 under President Bill Clinton, put out a Feb. 25 tweet where he bemoaned the rising pay of CEOs in the U.S. In 2011, Reich made $176,425 base pay and $235,791 total compensation. In 2019, Reich made $249,533 base pay and $300,354 total compensation. According to California-Berkeley, Reich taught one class in the fall of 2020, called “The Political Economy of Inequality” that was remote only and lasted two hours and was once a week. In the upcoming spring of 2021 semester, Reich is scheduled to teach two online-only classes once a week called “Wealth and Poverty” that last two hours.
I live right down the block from a Starbucks in Jersey City and I will never again buy their products until they are fully unionized. Socially conscious my ass
Humanitarianism is for overseas for these large corporations sometimes, instead for their own workers and customers here. It is strange as Robert Reich said; and Jazz echoed, values, what values? Labor's right to a decent wage and consistent hours are values. T-Shirts with slogans are not cutting it when they are intimidating unionizers.
I would not called myself a 'partner' if I was working on the floor of a Starbucks. A partner would have a face or, better yet, several faces at each and every corporate board meeting. They would also have at least all the same benefits as management.
It gets me that they charge so much plus they keep raising prices, but they can't pay their workers a decent wage. It seems like management wants all the money for their "pay packages." So go for unionization! It's high time baristas and others get their piece of the economic pie. Which means a living wage and benefits.
In 2021, the company made $4,199,000,000 in net income in 2021. The company has 350,000 employees. So the company could have given every employee a $10,000 bonus and still made a profit.
I want to goto Buffalo and get a coffee from Jaz Brisack and tell her she's an amazing well spoken young woman and with any luck, you and your fellow teammembers will inspire millions of others to do the same. bravo 👏 👏 👏
Just like in healthcare, preventative care would improve health and prevent chronic conditions, but good luck getting it paid for. Raising wages, and providing benefits would actually improve employee and customer satisfaction. The turnover costs in the service industry must be exorbitant, and really antithetical to providing quality staff and service that would bring in more business! Consumers need to support this effort! If your plumber is proficient in making your coffee combo, I will eat my SB cup!
Thanks, Robert, for bringing these young leaders in and giving them a platform. They bolster my hopes for humanity. Bless them and their righteous cause! Stay healthy everyone!!
Secretary Reich is the only person that I can confidently give a thumbs up without even knowing the subject of his discussion. I tested this. I agree with him 100% of the time on any issue he posts blindfolded. It’s a bad thing to say as a juror but it’s his pure love of human rights and justice with advice today, is very hard to find
Agreed. and that guy from all the Second Thought videos.
"We definitely should not be worried about inflation." Often Wrong Reich.
It's okay. Ignorance is curable. Learn some basic economics, history, law and unbiased political science and your opinion of Reich will rapidly approach 100% the other way. He is perhaps the biggest congenital liar online, including on this issue. for example.
@@FletchforFreedom your argument is a donut. All your supporting evidence are somehow missing in the middle.
@@rezadaneshi To the contrary, all I did was explain why you should learn those topics, which you clearly have not. Economics shows the minimum wage to result inly in disemployment, most notably job loss. That's an empirical fact but Reich - not an economist - pretends otherwise. Unions were in no way responsible for higher pay, better working conditions, the shorter work week, the eight hour day, the effective end of child labor - all beginning before union power came into being in this country. That's an historical fact but Reich pretends otherwise. It is actually impossible to underpay workers in the (abundantly evident) competitive market for labor - as has been empirically demonstrated even in company mining towns in the 19th century. That, too, is a fact, but Reich pretends otherwise. He pretends that the filibuster is unconstitutional which is factually wrong. He pretends that gerrymandering by Republicans is somehow different from decades of the exact same actions by Democrats which is obviously delusional. There are so many lies coming out of Reich's mouth - pretty much everything he says that I couldn't fit them in a thousand comments. And people who are not economically, historically and practically illiterate have absolutely no problem seeing them.
I can give as much source material that you'd like. As just the tip of the iceberg on but one of the issues - the minimum wage - you can start by checking out the four most comprehensive reviews of the research (all available online): the US Minimum Wage Study Commission; Brown, Gilroy & Kohen; Neumark & Wascher (2007) and Neumark & Shirley (2021). They find that nearly 80% of the research finds the minimum wage to be entirely harmful; nearly 20% is inconclusive and the tiny fraction that remains (Card & Kreuger; Schmitt et al; Doucouliagos & Stanley; the stuff from Michael Reich and Andrijat Dube's fantasy workshop) have pretty much all been completely shredded. There does not exist a means in economics (in which Reich has no expertise) under which a minimum wage could possibly be beneficial (as it defies something as basic as the Law of Demand and the only attempt to make such an argument - monopsony - has been empirically disproven). That's just a tiny fraction of the abundant evidence that completely refutes but one of Reich's endlessly repeated canards.
I'm happy to provide as much actual real world evidence, economics and history demonstrating that Reich is a liar and buffoon easily debunked by understanding of the issues he lies about but there is so very much that I can provide, you'll have to be specific about which item you'd like to address first. Hopefully I can provide some understanding of these issues to you and, as I began, you'll see that Reich's utterances are complete BS as well.
Overpriced "fair" trade coffee. They can at least pay people properly and treat them with dignity.
We need more people capable of creating jobs. Why not open a shop and pay the Big Bucks? Be the hero, I will be the first to congratulate you. What is holding you back? Surely a man of your business savvy and drive can make it happen. (I've been down that road, and when you fail I will explain where you went wrong.)
And will you pay more for a union cup of coffee?
Dunkin Donuts is ecstatic. They are banking on the fact that this will price some consumers out of the Starbucks brand.
Starbucks closed over 100 stores since unions started invade their business.
@@1Skeptik1 Its set by lowest bar fact is I work in industry that is lots of small owners construction. And its a multitude of things. But low quality low cheating taxes not having proper licenses shitty materials. Bigger companys getting bulk pricing on materials etc.
Fact is you could be fast as hell have most bad ass crew paying mediocre amounts and still get undercut by 50%. Fact is low bar sets the bar being responsible half decent human being is hard. I stayed in industry by niche custom work.
Stuff I did was so complex/custom one job where people "kept going with low bid" had 10 crews show up actually look at blueprints and go I don't know how to build that before we did it. It was essentially a rounded deck that levered out 30ft and had bench as custom rail. And we didn't even make that much 15-20hr per guy. Which was about same as rest of industry in our area. BUT we didn't have to pump out high volume garbage and we paid our taxes. That said we were never overtaking industry we just find a nice little corner to slowly die in.
But even that over years became so inequitable we went into other industrys as pay was just never going to be great. Unless we hired a bunch of people stole from them and left them and familys without healthcare and pumped out high volume garbage and forced owners to live with it or spend decades in uphill legal battles.
Its same with any business fact is I open a competing coffee shop lets say get it all worked out start accelerating its a great product people love it employees are well taken care of. Starbucks and competitors wont like that workers are compensated fairly.
They will spend millions if not billions on ads oversaturate areas (which was how they got so big) operate at a loss. Till one of us runs out of money hint hint it wont be them. Then when competition in this case me dies out close 3 out 4 stores. Then hit me with legal suits and frivolous stuff to further drain pocket book. AND fund smear campaigns in form of astroturfing etc.
And thats even pretending like we can compete when they own entire line of distribution. From the beans to the cups use unethical forms of outsourcing and other things. And can negotiate for better rates with few things like merchant transaction fees and health insurance companys.
If that wasn't enough of a barrier to compete in any meaningful way you can't have a single location. By having so many locations and brand recognition. A better cup for a better price wont do shit. Without a billion dollar marketing plan and billion dollar in getting thousands of locations etc etc. People are going to place they know name and has one 2 minutes closer because city has 50 starbucks.
Its illusion of competition fact is they bury competition by operating at a loss with oversaturation and then dial it back. And even if all else fails when I go big multi national and become publicly traded they will short a billion dollars of stock and tank stock prices and then do a hostile take over. Gut employee pay benefits and pretend like there is a option besides starbucks. While it would then be starbucks in all but name one.
@@1Skeptik1 so are workers worthless ?
@@youtubesucks1499 that's not gonna happen what's gonna happen is the money used for stock buybacks making their investors rich will be invested in employees who do the real job
Corporations should be the servants of the people. Instead corporations are becoming the people's masters.
These young women are so admirable. They give me hope for America’s future.
Robert, thank you for hosting this discussion. I feel like so many customer service workers would love to hear this, especially if they ever begin unionizing, almost like a handbook of what to expect. And it's explained so clearly! So thankful for their voices, great work everyone!
Maybe this will inspire the UFCW to take back the power they once had. It has been gutted and pillaged by corporations who have so much power that the UFCW is a joke. I was a teenager when I joined that union and I made more than minimum wage I remember when the union provided representation and fought to get cost of living raises. Over the past 30 years benefits have decreased wages have stagnated and if I where working in that industry I could not pay my rent with one weeks paycheck like I once could. It now takes 3 weeks pay to cover rent. Does nobody but me see something very wrong with this? There is virtually no competition in the sector. A handful of giant corporations control the industry. They get together and meet to have a united front that insures their power dynamic is not disrupted. Since our Monopoly laws are not enforced they can and do control the industry. Our corrupt political system allows it to continue because our politicians are bought and paid for by these companies. Politicians are prostitutes the sell their Ass to corporations and in return suck their dicks to ensure that the corporate elite are not disturbed. They keep the sheep in line and in fear. There is power in numbers and people are starting to realize this. That's why there is a shortage of qualified workers who have left the workforce. When you realize your worth it takes away their power. Fight the Power speak truth to power don't become a sheep
@@jeffedgel9082 Monopolization is popular in the US. A similar tactic is taken with mandatory arbitration. They used to use that alternative to courts to settle disputes between businesses, but now they use it in every contract, employment, customer, everything. We're all being treated as smaller "businesses" in a dispute resolution system where the deepest pockets pick the arbitrators.
@@MMuraseofSandvich you are absolutely correct
These young ladies are inspirational good for them.
The fact that the CEO received 14.6 million compensation is obscene.
The focus needs to be also on the shareholders that encourage these obscene behaviour, by saying nothing, the people that sit back and profit from this obscenity.
Actually, the Starbucks CEO earned a total of $20.5 million last year (including $1.61 mil. in direct salary; $14.76 million in increased stock value - which he earned as investor, not as CEO; per se - $4.03 million in incentives, related to his increases in the stock value to investors overall and $.03 million in :other compensation). How is that "obscene" and why is it relevant here? Do you think - even though it is objectively false and economically illiterate ... like Reich - that there is any connection between what the CEO makes and what other employees make? Do you think - even though it is objectively false and economically illiterate ... like Reich - that these young ladies or their coworkers are "underpaid"? Why should shareholders object to policies that make them more money, make them wealthier (poor performance in the prior year had more to do with a pandemic than anything else) and create jobs that give nearly 250,000 people the (fully compensated) opportunity to improve their condition in life? My retirement account mutual funds own some of Starbucks stock and the better performance than many companies during the first year of pandemic and better performance since shouldn't encourage that behavior because ... why exactly?
@@FletchforFreedom you remind me of Mr. Creosote (The meaning of life). 🤣🤣 You sit back in your chair let others do the nasty work whilst others are underpaid and treated badly. Judging by your name "Freedom" refers to your flat earth, anti-vax, self, self, self endeavours. Whilst in your case it seems impossible 🤔 grow a conscience. Take note of Mr. Creosote you might just emulate his demise one day!
@@FletchforFreedom There's a great book called Jennifer Government by a fella named Max Barry, I suspect you may enjoy it. I've always wondered about places like Starbucks. You said they employ 250,000 staff, but if Starbucks didn't exist and all those coffee shops were independent small businesses would they 1) employ more staff in total because they aren't as streamlined, and 2) would the coffee shops pay more tax cumulatively because they can't offshore most of their profits? I don't have any data or idea which it would be, just wondering out loud. However, I do know that Starbucks failed in Australia because the coffee culture is very high grade and that there are a plethora of independent small business coffee shops not seen to the same degree in Starbucks friendly countries.
@@davespanksalot8413 Actually, I found it to be overhyped and a bit ridiculous, I'm a huge fan of fantasy and SF but the suspension of disbelief stops when people act in ways that could never happen. Barry's a witty writer (and more concise than I am) but I just couldn't swallow the underlying premises (primarily corporatocracy). Tastes differ but I very much appreciate the recommendation. In the matter of tastes, if I were the typical customer, Starbucks(and the independents you mention) would never survive - I've never been a coffee drinker.
Economists frequently engage in counterfactuals to best envision what would happen in the absence of a given economic event - in my research typically as to what would happen in the absence of a minimum wage increase. Of course, we cannot know for certain what would have existed in the absence of Starbucks but there are a few things we can say with certainty. First, whether or not more or different people would have been employed or how much they paid in taxes is irrelevant to the issue. That someone else might have hypothetically done better does not erase the actual accomplishments. Second, while we cannot say for certain what would otherwise have happened, what we can say with certainty is that Starbucks, were it gas prospered, did a better job of meeting consumer needs than did any of the alternatives that were actually available and the same can be said for the independents in your area. By definition, we are all at least economically better off, strictly from a utilitarian perspective, better off with the presence of both Starbucks here and the independents there than under any other achievable scenario. And, finally, no such alternative changes the facts that a) the CEO was rewarded for increasing the value to shareholders (including those, like me, with shares in retirement accounts) and b) it is literally impossible in the (abundantly evident) competitive market for labor to underpay workers and what the CEO makes has no bearing or connection to what anyone else in the company makes.
i must say. based on what little I know, you have great taste in music.
@@FletchforFreedom I have great taste in music? Thank you and I think I do too, but I’m unsure as to how you know?! But that aside, I suppose the crux of my what-ifs was to very tangentially ponder on the national interest needs met by large corporates that do what corporates do which is seeking profits while unloading costs, usually onto the public purse (just think of all the mine site rehabilitation expenses that are left to the public system after mining companies bail on their responsibilities). I think it’s a relevant consideration in the context of political rhetoric around being a responsible citizen. As for CEO remuneration, I think the main takeaway from ever increasing pays is more a metric for the health of society given that the income gap between the highest incomes versus the lowest is usually a usable proxy for division and inequality in society at large (I’m not saying CEOs pays are responsible, but rather a marker).
Solidarity from the UK. I hope you get the rights we in Europe have.
I’m from Australia and I’m a member of the AMWU we went out on strike through November and December of last year after the company didn’t want to give us a pay rise and because bad occupational health and safety now we’ve got what we wanted and have a stronger union, stick in there and fight!
Solidarity 👊
Fantastic interview. This seems like a great "Unions 101" for dummies like me who honestly don't understand the mechanics of Union organization.
Congratulations!!! This will be an inspiration to other unions
I pray so. Amazon and Walmart need to allow this too. A happy worker is a productive worker and one that makes customers happy. Starbucks is making enough money to pay its employees well instead of treating them like robots.
Thank you Mr. Reich for giving these courageous women a platform to express their solidarity with a strong labor movement; and to expose the shallow charade of neoliberalism, perpetrated by pseudo-woke corporatists, who are trying to rebrand their trickle-down economics with empty corporate slogans.
These young women give me hope for the future! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
8:45 This sounds exactly like an abusive partner, trying to cut you off from outside support and saying that you owe everything to them, you are nothing without them.
Go unions we need more of them in the United States of America
Ironically, the US is one of the biggest unions.
@@thoughtfortheday7811 FDR was absolutely right - not about economics private sector unions (his actions along those lines made the Depression "Great") - in that he understood government unions would be (as they are) disastrous.
Stay strong amid the "surveillance" .As a union tradesman for 35 years at General Motors Canada , I'm aware of the disadvantages of nonunion workplaces .If my company "bent" the provincial workplace guidelines regarding safety rules , hazardous working conditions without proper equipment , progressive discipline and firing by supervisors who didn't like you , breaks and lunch time allowances etc, then the union rep would do the due diligence with the company , or deal with the Provincial ( or state ) department to file complaints .In Michigan , a "right to work " State ) they are union busting with a vengeance , even though Detroits auto industry made that town and state great at one time .In GM bankruptcy restructuring ,CEO Rick Wagoner got the golden handshake of $25,000,000 and a huge pension , and the workers ........Oh well !
i am so glad that young people are finally seeing that if they want a quality life, the only chance they
have is to unionise and stand together. Stay strong! Customers should say they will boycott if the store is
not union. Bright Moments!!!!
😂. Most people don't want to be in unions. That's why union membership has declined so badly over the last few decades except for public unions.
@@555atU Why do people not want to
be in unions. The benefits are protection from unfair practices from employers, the ability to negotiate for group insurance discounts. Health insurance, home , auto,
injury insurance . Create a credit union which functions as a bank which actually
gives low rent loans and has high yield savings accounts etc. People need to be
shown the benefits. i get everything I just mentioned plus free legal service and more. The idea is that banding together forms a stronger position to negotiate
one´s needs in the market .
@@bobblues1158 in my opinion...private unions don't serve much purpose anymore, union bosses have been indicted, and people don't want to pay the dues for something they don't trust. They've been political slush funds for Democrats and many of their members aren't Democrats anymore. People have also been forced into paying union dues because it was required to be in a union where right to work wasn't in place. Most of the benefits you mentioned are available through company benefits anyway. If people want to unionize, fine....but lots of people don't need or want them. But not all unions are a negative...the carpenter's union comes to mind as a positive to help ensure standards and training.
Hypocrisy he makes 309k teaching 1 class a few hours a week. What pension will he get teaching to hate america.
Maby cut professors pay and pensions and give more money to baristas.
@@tomdemeo2708 You are incredibly deluded regarding how little pay and job security many professors have these days coupled with the pressure to continue publishing while teaching and mentoring. Especially when their pay and benefits are compared with the monstrous profits many American universities make and pay to their non-professorial administrators.
Stand Strong Starbucks Unionizers!
It's good to see young adults embracing unions, better pay, benefits, and respect, the unions should be all over this movement, and not let up, help these people and let others see the real benefits of being a union member, and it may just catch on nation wide.
Well, will the consumer pay union prices for overpriced, overrated coffee?
Ultimately, its the consumer that will determine if the union is a success or not.
The cost of union will be passed on to the consumer.
So if the guy who pours a cup of coffee makes $20 an hour plus benefits.... how much extra will a latte cost? And will people pay it?
@@youtubesucks1499 Yes and no I mean record profits record ceo compensation. Maybe markets will decide will gougers that pass the buck to consumers do better or will companys that take a dip to compensate workers without hurting consumers be the ones that consumers choose.
Fact is this happens in other countrys there are mcdonalds that pay workers 22hr and give six weeks vacation and full 100% healthcare. And bigmac cost 50 cents more.
With other places maybe it will be a wakeup call to stop the whole under 30hrs randomized last minute shifts all while paying unlivable wages denying bathroom breaks and even doing shit that pretty much free just because we like our "unworthy workers" to stand for 12hrs. Like last one is a wierd thing in most countrys the whole making cashiers stand. Which not only leads to health issues (which they do not provide or provide piss poor insurance) whether its first world or third world rest of world thinks were assholes on that account.
But right now workers have been pushed to brink people have been born raised and started working all without min wage increase. And irony is cunts like yourself don't realize your getting screwed too. But your happy as long as you can kick down at workers you deem undeserving of living wage and dignity for full time employment.
Since 1938 when min wage was implemented till about 1985 min wage vs average rent was 50-80hrs of labor. With 50hrs being years of increase and 80hrs being years where it was 5-6yrs since a increase. Now today it takes a 190hrs to pay average rent even at 15hr still more than 90hrs to pay your rent. To be on par with fresh increase year min wage worker and pay it in 50hrs you would have to earn 26hr. And rents not even highest cost of living item since 1970 rent went up 1300% buying home 1700% tuition 2800% and healthcare 3200%.
Your likely likely in the majority of Americans that make less than 26 but if your feeling cheery dont similar losses are throughout pretty much any wage earning person. And its been siphoned by those at time while number of billionaires grew workers wages shrunk while deficits exploded so did number of multi billionaires and billion dollar company's that paid zero taxes. While also receiving on average 2-3 times in subsidy or bailouts than was spent on any form of social services or infrastructure. Which ironically if you can't connect dots that richest people also have most employees on welfare. And see how its almost like taxpayers are subsidizing their workers wages so they can pocket a unprecedented amount of wealth creating inequality not seen since gilded age. Then your obstinately blind or willfully so because your one of one profiting off workers poverty.
Want to know cause of supply chain issues not finding workers. People are withdrawing almost all of consumerism in order to withdraw their labor from market. Fact is whats better as a worker a apartment shared with 5-6 people that you only see during 6-8hrs you get between shifts. And despite this still not affording healthcare retirement or reaching any financial goals. Why not live in a van down by the river work 1 day a month doing day labor or gig work and pay insurance fuel but have time to spend with friends family read books. And its not just that there is a multitude of ways people are choosing to have less. In order to have more fulfilling lifes.
Fact is during covid many people were forced to do with out realized shit circumstance of facing deadly disease for corporate profits and still barely being able to live. After decades of work hard it will get better this is a fluke a one in million case people got sick of it.
Me personally I have been selling everything living off the savings I was fortunate to have and if place wont pay me a wage I can live off of with a health work life balance. Screw it van down by the river for me. Why work if your hungry or in pain and cant see a doctor.
But I do recommend looking at your expenses over time comparing them to wages. And unless your in 1% chances are it takes more of your labor to pay your basic expenses like rent food healthcare than it did when you first started.
Thats what got me is I do trades and every year year after year I either cut a goal or removed it entirely. And despite getting more certification moving up. I found that I was worse off than when I started as a basic laborer 20yrs ago with no experience than I was a foreman with multiple certifications and decades of experience.
Thank you, this movement is a long time coming.
United we Bargain, divided we beg. ✊🏽
My warmest congratulations to your new union. Seek the support of your sisters and brothers in older trade unions from Europe. I think the swedish LO has the resources to help you in the beginning. good luck
Way to go!! Hopefully unions will spread through Starbucks and the benefits will show. Then maybe other employees in other industries will follow
Nurses need unions badly.
I want to unionize my Starbucks, but I don’t even know where to begin. Where should I start? I believe in the working class and I dream that one day we will be able to overcome every barrier put in our path by the 1%, but it’s so difficult to stand up for yourself when you’re alone. I believe unions are the way, but I’m fearful of being fired in retaliation. Any advice?
Contact Starbucks Workers United! They have a Twitter and an email that you can reach out to. Also, if you have a starbucks near you that has already filed a petition you can hop on over and ask. I know a lot of people would be willing to help!
They can’t fire you for wanting to unionize. They won’t make that mistake. They will fire you for something else that they make up. But the best thing you can do is contact the labor union that these young women are a part of. The union will back you and protect you.
Let’s get them it’s sad to see all the people that have been buffaloed into believing that the corporate top elite are the best and need to be taken care of it’s time to break the backs like our grandfathers dead after the great depression let’s get them girls
@@ericneering6357 loved old way lowest earner x 10 for CEO. That was the old Ben and Jerrys.
About time. Overworked, under paid staff, and the coffees are too expensive.
You Guys are legends!
Keep up the Great work.
Here in Australia Unions have been slowly dismantled and working conditions and pay have been eroded substantially due less Union membership and Union Bashing by Government and Business.
Don't agonize; organize.
One thing that we could do as customers is make those managers taking up space in the store to move.
Most stores are generally full of customers that I go to, if there is a manager taking up a seat they should get up and leave.
"Make them move campaign!"
I love the product, they could afford to treat employees better though.
Thanks Robert! Thanks Starbucks employees!
When I worked for union organization for flight attendants at Delta Airlines we faced similar tactics. Great company - except for that. The decline of unions since the 1980s has greatly contributed to income inequality.
Love the poster on your wall of Paul Robeson. I love his voice.
So many big corporations cry poor when it comes to taking care of their employees, but they let it rain when it comes to lavish perks and bonuses for the CEO and top executives, along with stock buybacks to make the company look more profitable and line the pockets of the one percent.
Dear Robert, I can always depend upon you being on the right side! Thank you so much!
I’ve boycotted Starbucks for years. Their coffee sucks.
I hope labor wins.
Regardless of politics, I think Starbucks coffee is overrated.
There ought to be a LABOR UNION for all "fast food" (and "fast coffee") employees. People who work for grocery stores have one... why not one for workers who take orders and serve prepared food to walk-through or drive-through customers?
Time for McDonalds and Burger King...
The grass is greener where you water it.
Solidarity Forever. ✊
These young people are visionaries. They see the direction that big business is going and they want a voice at the table to protect workers' rights in the long run. Of course corporate is sending their office personnel to the actual stores to intimidate and harass the actual workers on the front line, on their feet all day, interacting with customers and doing the actual labor that keeps this business going. I've seen it all before. We used to call them the carpet people who were sitting on their butts all day, chit chatting, on their phones or laptops, taking hour long lunches or more, making a living wage plus with so many added benefits. While at the same time a wage freeze was happening for those on the floor, our benefits were being cut or our out of pocket costs for medical were going sky high. We were being increasingly watched, our half hour lunch breaks monitored closely with no place to eat a meal within that time. Yet, we were supposed to expedite the process, work faster, produce more and oftentimes train people from other nations where our jobs were being outsourced to. It created a toxic workplace.
I'm so proud of these young people for standing firm under these pressures. Once they get what they are asking for, I may actually find a Starbucks and fork over the price for a cup of coffee.
This is fantastic, well done ladies! I’ve worked alongside buffalo women, they’re a rare breed! 👏✊
Oh my gosh, what excellent news! Good job.
If the workers win, I'll go there and get a coffee. Otherwise, who the hell needs it?
Together we negotiate, divided you beg!
Yet another superlative presentation! Thank you Robert. Let us hope that Starbucks is just the beginning of a looooooong overdue Worker's Renaissance. Keep up the good work Mr. Secretary!!!
Inspirational! I felt like we were in the company of a great group of people.
Heroes.
Too bad America is too stupid to understand the need for strong unions & worker representation at the corporate board level. Germany gets it... and look, they still have a healthy manufacturing sector!
Good Post,but how exactly does Germany "get it" ??
@@waderidsdale402 Their unions are still very healthy and their companies are required to have labor representation at the executive level. Worker rights are strongly protected. Six weeks paid vacation per year, excellent other benefits as well. It's worker paradise compared to the USA.
Except, of course, that the US manufacturing sector has never been stronger (as opposed to manufacturing employment) and the myth of unions providing material benefit to workers has long been shredded by objective fact.
@@FletchforFreedom euhm, where has that been shredded?
It's the USA unions that aren't doing well. European unions are doing just fine.
And the reason for that is that unions in Europe are more regulated, but also more supported by laws.
In the USA unions are more free to do what they want and that leads to more corruption and bad management.
An example is how unions in Europe are generally not job specific. So unions look at the bigger picture when issues show up instead of putting different types of workers against eachother. It's also mandatory for companies with more than 15 employees to hold union elections.
(This means that employees of Starbucks in Europe already have union representation)
@@Robbedem Your response is a huge non sequitur. None of the points you've made address the initial statement. Research shows that unions provide, on average, a 2% wage premium (largely offset by 1/3% in union dues) largely at the cost of fewer jobs, reduced job security and incentives for automation. That reads to me like no material benefit (see "What Do Unions Do?" and "What Do Unions Do?: A Twenty Year Retrospective")
Beyond that, the myth that unions were responsible for the gains workers have achieved in this country doesn't bear scrutiny. In the US in the 19th century, in the complete absence of labor laws and before the rise of union power (after 1880) real wages *QUADRUPLED,* working conditions improved dramatically, the average work week was slashed by a third and continued to fall, the 8-hour day came into existence and began becoming widely available, starvation was effectively eliminated and child labor, which had approached 100% (agrarian society) plummeted to fewer than 1-in-3 boys and 1-in-8 girls and continued to fall (the remainder still overwhelmingly employed on family farms).
As for European unions, iy is no accident that Americans are better paid than they are and that unemployment is generally lower. Those "benefits" come at a cost. We are endlessly given the example of the $20/hr fats food worker but, because they have so increased the minimum cost of labor, their economy supports only a quarter as many such workers per capita and workers are then pushed into hobs not covered by union negotiation (which every last one of those countries have).
I stand by my initial statement.
I’m convinced that there is more power in organized labor than there is at the ballot box. We need to agitate for unions across the country from the grassroots on up.
Y’all are heroes. Imo, far braver than the troops.
they are defending democracy at home!
I want to stand up and cheer. This is the spirit that will move our country in a more egalitarian direction. GO UNION!
Go Union!
If unions had a stronger presence in the US work force we wouldn't have so many problems
Capitalism obligates unionization. Why would a person who lives in a so-called “democracy” feel powerless? That feeling prompted Starbucks workers to begin to unionize. Management is trying to hamper their efforts to do so. Starbucks’ profit is enormous at almost 21 billion dollars in 2021, but that, of course, stays at the 1% management level. Unions are only an imperative, when a nation’s economic system only benefits 1% of her citizens. When a nation’s economic system is already designed to benefit all of her citizens, workers’ unions become meaningless. Even if the United States achieves 76% unionization, and creates a comparable welfare state like Sweden, we should still continue to struggle towards socialism. Capitalism, as Starbucks has shown, is the antithesis of democracy. Socialism is the perfect match for democracy!
These three, sorry four, are incredible....
"You may picket for things which our customers support, you may not picket for things our workers support (even if customers support them too)." - Someone in Starbucks, probably.
SOLIDARITY FOREVER! Boilermakers Local 26, Savannah, GA. We're with you, girls!
“Buddy can you spare a dime.” I’m old enough to remember when a dime could buy a cup of coffee. Starbucks certainly changed the price of coffee, time to share the wealth.
Robert, have you done a debate with Yaron Brook?? Would love to see you set that up.
I love it! Solidarity! make the job better don't quit! Fight those corporate robber Barron's!!!
Great interview 👍
It is time for Star Bucks to walk the walk instead of just the talk.
Meanwhile Starschmucks is buying up half of Hawaii Island!
The kids are alright.
I hope the baristas keep fighting. I hope the baristas win. Corporations are too powerful. This surfeit of corporate power has made corporations immoral and unethical.
Very encouraging, you guys are inspirational 🤩 keep on that track and lead the change 👍 great guys 👏👏👏
At least they get stock options while working for Starbucks, when Dunkin’ Donuts had it’s stock public nobody had stock options .. now those are the people that should be unionizing lol
Dunkin' Donuts - next?
A guy named Jimmy Patison (spelling ?) said in a book that he could find 5% wastage of money spent in any company that he purchased. I think any CEO or member of the board of Directors could afford to tighten their financial belt by 5% per year and PAY the employees more ! Or start real benefit programs .
Hello from Costa Rica, keep it going amigos.
Preventive maintenance and safety should be Number one .
Truly inspiring!
"get another job" and replied "what's better anyplace else?" exactly
If you lack the talent and skills to do better, how is that anyone else's fault?
@@FletchforFreedom If you lack compassion and any sort of care about a functional society.....Why should we get a shit what your opinion is? Here is a tip. Watch his videos. don't just show up to comment.
@@Frostfly Where do you get the notion that I lack compassion?!?!? I fully care about the most vulnerable among us! This is expressly why I so oppose Reich's nonsense, particularly minimum wage laws and unions! The fiction that these are beneficial to workers has long been completely disproved. I have been watching Reich's videos for years. Some morons actually believe this idiot is an economist!
@@FletchforFreedom oh I see, a demonstrative libertarian. Let's add clueless and selfish to your list of issues
"There's no suggestion that they should be grateful for you"
Power to the People ✊
UNIONS FIRST UNIONS FOREVER
Finally! Some good news.👍🏻👍🏻
"An injury to one is an injury to all!" -- IWW
Reich for president! Or atleast Senator or something. Get this man in govt!!!
It's hard to tell up from down sometimes, but this is a good thing.
Congratulations & way to go USA.
The empty chair at the Starbucks board meeting is so telling. In the EU that chair is occupied by a worker. The US can't even bring its workforce to the table.
Good for them, I hope everyone gets a union
Starbucks has been full of horsetrump from the very beginning. Back in the late 1980s, they brought on a VP for operations who insisted on firing their Director of Human Resources because he didn't want to work with women. That woman is still around -- Hermosa Beach, I think -- if you want to interview her.
If you work for a multinational that tries to prevent you from creating a union, just dump them and search for a better employer. There's never been a better time to negotiate a living wage, thanks to Covid that has given employees time to realize that they've been exploited for decades. Thank you Prof. Reich for everything you do to educate the masses and show them how to demand better condition ... United we stand !!
Wow, sounds familiar - we are more than 3 years in now on our drive. Watch the video follow up to this. Been there done that, heard it, said it. Amazing how similar the story always is. Good luck you guys I am with you!!
Thank you for proving to Americans how our corporations are against the welfare of the average person.
Graveyard shift manager and counter person at Dunkin Donuts once confided me ....
Gross margins on a plain cup of Joe, before overhead, franchise fees .... One thousand per cent ( 1,000%!). That is not even the fancy beverages.
Pastries account for 50%.
There is a lot of money in coffee. Not your Joe served at a local dinner , with several refills .
Little wonder ole Starbucks picks the best locations , no free refills, no wage concessions.
And all US stores are corporate.
Lots of money in this racket
It’s not that management shouldn’t be paid more than workers. It’s not that the leaders of a company aren’t more important than workers. It’s the idea that a multi-billion dollar corporation is allowed to have workers leading miserable lives and tell them they should be grateful it isn’t worse. How is this justifiable? If America truly believes in the American dream and giving a path to success for even its lowest skilled citizens, this current system is anathema to those ideals.
I worked in the Food Service Industry for 40 years. A graduate of CIA, I never imagined the negative impact of illegal Immigration until my graduation day 3/7/1993.
I could not get a job anywhere unless I wanted to accept the very low wages of the illegals already hired.
There was no leverage back then. Unions are built when the power dynamic is unbalanced.
I’ve scraped, and wept about my 40 years of poverty. Struggling with my responsibility to pay back loans and as a result joined the military to cook and bake for the Navy special missions for $ 11.56 an hour. 8 days a week , 17 hours a day 10 months out of the year.
After an injury on a mission, I was forced to leave.
My pension is $434 a month.
My health benefits $582 a month.
I applauded you for paying attention to the wage disparity in the country you live in, and the desire to demand better everything.
It’s overdue, but still a great accomplishment.
University of California-Berkeley professor Robert Reich has often complained about the high pay of CEOs.
Reich, who was the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1993 to 1997 under President Bill Clinton, put out a Feb. 25 tweet where he bemoaned the rising pay of CEOs in the U.S.
In 2011, Reich made $176,425 base pay and $235,791 total compensation.
In 2019, Reich made $249,533 base pay and $300,354 total compensation.
According to California-Berkeley, Reich taught one class in the fall of 2020, called “The Political Economy of Inequality” that was remote only and lasted two hours and was once a week.
In the upcoming spring of 2021 semester, Reich is scheduled to teach two online-only classes once a week called “Wealth and Poverty” that last two hours.
Long overdue other corporations need to this too... Walmart, home depot etc...
I live right down the block from a Starbucks in Jersey City and I will never again buy their products until they are fully unionized. Socially conscious my ass
I love this man ❤️
Excellent video
Humanitarianism is for overseas for these large corporations sometimes, instead for their own workers and customers here. It is strange as Robert Reich said; and Jazz echoed, values, what values? Labor's right to a decent wage and consistent hours are values. T-Shirts with slogans are not cutting it when they are intimidating unionizers.
We support Baristas 💯
I would not called myself a 'partner' if I was working on the floor of a Starbucks. A partner would have a face or, better yet, several faces at each and every corporate board meeting. They would also have at least all the same benefits as management.
It gets me that they charge so much plus they keep raising prices, but they can't pay their workers a decent wage. It seems like management wants all the money for their "pay packages." So go for unionization! It's high time baristas and others get their piece of the economic pie. Which means a living wage and benefits.
"Partners." Right. Anyway, democracy at work. That's the next step in human history.
In 2021, the company made $4,199,000,000 in net income in 2021. The company has 350,000 employees. So the company could have given every employee a $10,000 bonus and still made a profit.
I want to goto Buffalo and get a coffee from Jaz Brisack and tell her she's an amazing well spoken young woman and with any luck, you and your fellow teammembers will inspire millions of others to do the same. bravo 👏 👏 👏
never again to patronize any starbucks without a union...
Just like in healthcare, preventative care would improve health and prevent chronic conditions, but good luck getting it paid for. Raising wages, and providing benefits would actually improve employee and customer satisfaction. The turnover costs in the service industry must be exorbitant, and really antithetical to providing quality staff and service that would bring in more business! Consumers need to support this effort! If your plumber is proficient in making your coffee combo, I will eat my SB cup!
Proud Proud Proud!!!!!!!