E121-123: IWW Starbucks Workers Union

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Episodes

• Part 1: Background about Starbucks, workers’ pay and conditions, the Industrial Workers of the World union, how the organising got started, and the legal avenues the IWW pursued. Available early for our supporters on Patreon.
• Part 2: Solidarity unionism and direct action on the job, tactics, and gains won by the workers. Coming soon for our supporters on Patreon.
• Part 3: International solidarity, Starbucks union-busting strategies, the decline of the union, and lessons for today. Coming soon for our supporters on Patreon.
• Part 3.1, bonus episode: More about Daniel’s work and organising history, the political and economic context of the early 2000s, and retaliation by Starbucks against him, and what happened in the subsequent legal case. Coming soon for our supporters on Patreon.

More info

• Get hold of books by Daniel Gross, including:
  • Labor Law for the Rank and Filer: Building Solidarity While Staying Clear of the Law – Staughton Lynd and Daniel Gross
  • Solidarity Unionism at Starbucks – Staughton Lynd and Daniel Gross
  • Unions of our Own – Daniel Gross
• Learn more about the IWW in our podcast series and in these books.
• Learn more about McDonald’s Workers’ Resistance in this bonus podcast episode, available on Patreon.
• Read ‌My body, my rules: a case for rape and domestic violence survivors becoming workplace organizers.
• Learn more about the Solidarity Union Network.
• Learn more about workplace organising in these organising guides.
• Learn about the current wave of organising at Starbucks in Heat the Ground Up, a Haymarket Originals podcast.
• And, finally, learn about John’s experiences of organising at work in this bonus episode on Patreon.

Sources

Archives utilised

• Starbucks Union. IWW. [Archived January 20, 2011, accessed 2026 Jan 1]. https://web.archive.org/web/20110120215626/http://www.starbucksunion.org/node.
• Starbucks | Industrial Workers of the World. 2026. Iwworg. [accessed 2026 Jan 19]. https://archive.iww.org/category/campaigns/current-campaigns/food-retail-workers-organizing/starbucks/.
• Starbucks Workers Union. libcom.org. [accessed 2026 Jan 19]. https://libcom.org/tags/starbucks-workers-union.

Other sources

• Our Story – Starbucks Workers United. 2025 Sep 3. Starbucks Workers United. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://sbworkersunited.org/our-story/.
• Preuss A. 2023 Sep 9. The Biggest Coffee Companies in the World 2026. Coffeeness. [accessed 2026 Jan 8]. https://www.coffeeness.de/en/biggest-coffee-companies/.
• ‌Corporate union busting in plain sight: How Amazon, Starbucks, and Trader Joe’s crushed dynamic grassroots worker organizing campaigns. 2025. Economic Policy Institute. [accessed 2026 Jan 8]. https://www.epi.org/publication/corporate-union-busting/.
• Starbucks: The Early Years. 2017. History Link. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://www.historylink.org/File/20292.
• Howard Schultz, Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time (Hyperion, 1999).
• Creswell J, Scheiber N. 2022 Mar 16. Starbucks C.E.O. retires, and Howard Schultz steps in as interim chief executive. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/business/starbucks-kevin-johnson-howard-schultz.html.
• Arthur Thompson, Alex Janes, Margaret Peteraf, Ciara Sutton, John Gamble, A. Strickland, Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases (McGraw-Hill Education, 2013), 545.
• Starbucks Corporation. 2023. Timeline. https://about.starbucks.com/uploads/2023/02/AboutUs-Company-Timeline-2.6.23.pdf.
• (SBUX) Starbucks Revenue: 1994-2026 Annual Revenue. WallStreetZen. 2026. [accessed 2026 Jan 8]. https://www.wallstreetzen.com/stocks/us/nasdaq/sbux/revenue.
• Our Strike – Starbucks Workers United. 2025 Nov 13. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://sbworkersunited.org/our-strike/.
• A Union Revolution is Brewing at Starbucks | Industrial Workers of the World. [accessed 2026 Jan 8]. https://archive.iww.org/node/864/.
• $7 in 2004 → 2026 | Inflation Calculator. 2026. In2013dollarscom. [accessed 2026 Jan 8]. https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/2004?amount=7.
• Minimum Wage. 2026. Department of Labor. [accessed 2026 Jan 8]. https://dol.ny.gov/minimum-wage.
• Herrera A. 2026 Jan 6. Discontinued NYC MetroCards listed for thousands on eBay. CBS News. [accessed 2026 Jan 8]. https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/discontinued-nyc-metrocards-ebay-sale/.
• Chan S. 2004 Dec 16. Transit Fares to Rise for Many Riders. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/16/nyregion/transit-fares-to-rise-for-many-riders.html.
• $70 in 2004 → 2026 | Inflation Calculator. 2026. In2013dollarscom. [accessed 2026 Jan 8]. https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/2004?amount=70.
• Gunja, Munira Z, Gumas ED, II W. 2023 Jan 11. U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes. The Commonwealth Fund Website. doi:https://doi.org/10.26099/8ejy-yc74. [accessed 2026 Jan 8]. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2023/jan/us-health-care-global-perspective-2022.
• 1992 Aug 16. At Work; Benefits? For Part Timers? New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/16/business/at-work-benefits-for-part-timers.html.
• Staughton Lynd and Daniel Gross, Solidarity Unionism: Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below (PM Press).
• Scheiber N. 2019 Oct 10. The Radical Guidebook Embraced by Google Workers and Uber Drivers. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/business/economy/labor-book.html.
• Starbucks 2006 Corporate IRRESPONSIBILITY Report JUSTICE from Bean to Cup. IWW. Https://archive.iww.org/PDF/Starbucks/iww_sbuxcorpreport.pdf.
• Solidarity Unionism: What it is and what it isn’t. 2018 Sep 6. Organizing Work. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://organizing.work/2018/09/solidarity-unionism-what-it-is-and-what-it-isnt/.
• Right-To-Work States 2024: What Are They and How It Works. 2024 Oct 20. Mosey. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://mosey.com/blog/right-to-work-states/.
• How to Make Work Safer with Direct Action – An IWW Story at Starbucks | Industrial Workers of the World. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://archive.iww.org/node/2841/.
• THE WAY THEY SEE IT Frustrated by Low Wages, Starbucks Employees Sow Union Seeds. Columbia Spectator 8 February 2006, 1 [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://archive-publications.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs20060208-01.2.3&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN——-.
• Retail Workers Fight Back | Industrial Workers of the World. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://archive.iww.org/node/2951/.
• Average Wage Index (AWI). 2023. Social Security Administration. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/awidevelop.html.
• Advancing Martin Luther King’s Dream Through Hope and Community | Duke Today. 2025. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://today.duke.edu/2025/01/advancing-martin-luther-kings-dream-through-hope-and-community.
• Starbucks Workers Union Expands to Maryland in Spite of Harsh Anti-Union Effort | Industrial Workers of the World. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://archive.iww.org/node/3171/.
• Starbucks Rehires Pro-Union Worker. 2008 Aug 29. CBS News. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/starbucks-rehires-pro-union-worker/.
• New Zealand Starbucks Workers on Strike! | Industrial Workers of the World. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://archive.iww.org/node/1638/.
• Adam Weaver, The Story and Struggle of Starbucks Workers in Chile, Industrial Worker (November 2013). 2026. libcom.org. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://libcom.org/article/industrial-worker-november-2013.
• Chilean Starbucks Workers on Strike—and U.S. Baristas Show Solidarity. 2011 Jul 27. In These Times. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://inthesetimes.com/article/chilean-starbucks-workers-on-strike-u-s-baristas-show-solidarity.
• At-Will Employment – Overview. 2026. National Conference of State Legislatures. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/at-will-employment-overview.
• About the Mermaid Parade. 2019. Coney Island USA. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://www.coneyisland.com/mermaidparade.
• Burgerville unionises, Working Class History. 2026. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9800/Burgerville-unionises.
• Burgerville Workers Union · Industrial Workers of the World. 2021. Burgerville Workers Union · Industrial Workers of the World. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://bvwu.iww.org/.
• Smith B. 2024 Jul 10. Fourth Street Peet’s Coffee joins Peet’s Labor Union. wwwdailycalorg. [accessed 2026 Jan 20]. https://www.dailycal.org/news/city/local-businesses/fourth-street-peet-s-coffee-joins-peet-s-labor-union/article_eb41b00a-3e70-11ef-adb5-0b4efdb52f7d.html.
• 2024 Jul 11. Peet’s Coffee Employees “March on the Boss” as IWW Union Campaign Expands to Fourth Store. It’s Going Down. [accessed 2026 Jan 20]. https://itsgoingdown.org/berkeley-iww-march-on-the-boss/.
• The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) – UE Political Action Issues Briefing. 2019. UE. [accessed 2026 Jan 9]. https://www.ueunion.org/polact_ibr_efca.html.

Acknowledgements

• Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands.
• Episode graphic: Starbucks Workers Union members, including Daniel, holding the sign, left, march down Union Square, NYC, 2007. Courtesy IWW.
• Our theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.
• Edited by Jesse French

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Transcript

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