December 13, 2011

DEFEND UNION BARISTA LIBERTE LOCKE

http://www.facebook.com/events/207545722658053/?ref=notif&notif_t=event_invite

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(PHASE TWO)

... THE DETAILS:

NYC IWW union organizer and rape survivor Liberte Locke is in danger of being fired for refusing to put her safety at risk for Starbucks. In retaliation for her organizing efforts, store manager Amady Liditi has forced Liberte to close every single shift for the last 4 months. After repeated sexual harassment while returning home after 2 AM, and tired of waiting on the slow process of legal charges (multiple ULPs filed with the NLRB), Liberte has been refusing to work past 11 PM for the past week and a half.

THE ACTION:

Demand an end to retaliatory scheduling against Liberte Locke based on her IWW union involvement and that she be scheduled for day shifts immediately.

Call, text or email
District Manager Adler Ludvigsen
(917)497-6183
aludvigs@starbucks.com

Sunday Dec. 11th through Tuesday Dec. 13th

Sample email:

"This is ______ from the _______ branch of the IWW.

I am extremely concerned about the treatment IWW organizer Liberte Locke has received at the hands of Astor Place store manager Amady Liditi. I feel that forcing fellow worker Locke to close every single shift for the past four months is not only discriminatory, but is an obvious case of retaliation for her IWW-Starbucks Workers Union organizing efforts.

I demand that Liberte Locke be put on day shifts immediately and that any further retaliation and/or harassment based on her IWW union affiliation cease. As I'm sure you're aware, workers in this country have a legal right to organize. The efforts of Starbucks to break fellow worker Locke's spirit is an attack on all workers, and is in direct violation of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935.

Furthermore, I demand that Amady Liditi be reprimanded for his sexist behavior in dealing with fellow worker Locke. Knowing that fellow worker Locke was a rape survivor, Liditi repeatedly told Locke that she did not "know her place." It is unacceptable to tell any woman what her place is, especial a survivor of sexual violence.

An Injury to One is an Injury to All."


You can also continue to call and/or text
Store Manager Amady Liditi
(718)288-2495


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THE HISTORY:

Liberte Locke has been a very vocal union organizer for the IWW Starbucks Workers Union for over 4 years and a Starbucks barista for over 5. As a move of solidarity she recently transferred to the Astor Place Starbucks to stand up against anti-worker, anti-union Store Manager, Amady Liditi, who spent the last year firing union employees over small infractions in an effort to crush the organizing drive. This is the video of the 8 person shop committee that went public just last January, all but two no longer work there due to firings or serious mistreatment that pushed the workers into quitting.

The IWW currently has 9 Unfair Labor Practice charges pending with the National Labor Relations Board specifically regarding Amady Liditi. The majority of the charges have been filed by, and involve, Liberte.

WHERE WE ARE NOW:

Since transferring, Manager Liditi has been forcing Liberte to close every single shift, without exception, in retaliation for her organizing efforts. This location's closing shift ends at 1:45am each night. This has put Liberte in dangerous situations trying to return home to Brooklyn after work, an over an hour commute. Months ago she witnessed and intervened in the sexual assault of an elderly woman in a dark subway station and just last Wednesday she was viciously sexually harassed by multiple men on the subway, then followed from the subway by another man, and finally a fourth man attempted to steal her purse. After that evening, Liberte made her Store Manager Amady Liditi and District Manager Adler Ludvigsen aware of the situation and that she was no longer willing to, nor would she, work past 11pm. Originally this was accepted by management.

The whole experience informed a recently, widely circulated, essay connecting domestic violence with the abuse experienced at the hands of Starbucks managers That can be read at http://libcom.org/library/my-body-my-rules-case-rape-domestic-violence-survivors-becoming-workplace-organizers



Yesterday, Dec. 7th, Liditi told Liberte that he would begin scheduling her for closing shifts again unless she returned to work with a letter from a professional therapist that stated that what she went through would inhibit her ability to do closing shifts. Liberte responded by saying that while it would be no problem to retrieve such a document that she absolutely refused to on the basis that Liditi was being misogynistic for not believing a woman at her word. Liberte revealed to management that she was a rape survivor and that the experience was very emotionally triggering. During an argument regarding this Liditi mentioned twice that Liberte “did not know her place”. Only further supporting her claims of Liditi’s sexism. Liberte stood her ground and repeatedly stated that she would not be providing such a letter and that she would never again work past 11pm.

A STALEMATE WAS REACHED –
BUT WE’RE NOT WAITING FOR THEM TO MAKE THE NEXT MOVE

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December 12, 2011

Protesters halt operations at some western ports

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20111212/D9RJ8M2O0.html

By TERRY COLLINS

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Hundreds of Wall Street protesters blocked gates at some of the West Coast's busiest ports on Monday, causing the partial shutdown of several in a day of demonstrations they hope will cut into the profits of the corporations that run the docks.

The closures affected some of the terminals at the ports in Oakland, Calif., Portland, Ore., and Longview, Wash., though it was not immediately clear how much the shutdowns would affect operations and what the economic loss would be.

From California to as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia, protesters picketed gates, beating drums, carrying signs such as "Shutdown Wall St. on the Waterfront" and causing longer wait times for trucks.

There were a handful of arrests so far, but no major clashes with police.


Protesters set up a picket line at a Port of Portland terminal Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, in Portland, Ore., as part of a West Coast "day of action." Anti-Wall Street protesters along the West Coast joined an effort Monday to blockade some of the nation's busiest docks, with the idea that if they cut off the ports, they cut into corporate profits. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)