Submitted on Tue, 08/16/2011 - 2:16pm

Last month, Tiffany White,an African American mother of two, and union leader and organizer with the Industrial Workers of the World Starbucks Workers Union, was terminated without justification from a New York Starbucks.



The practice of targeting female union members continues in Nebraska, with recent threats to union organizer Sasha McCoy. McCoy, also an African American mother of two,was recently threatened with termination when she reduced her availability at the 15th and Douglas Starbucks so she could return to school to pursue a B.S. in biology.



McCoy's new schedule meets all of the requirements outlined in the corporate scheduling policy. McCoy also spoke with representatives from Partner Resources, the H.R. branch of the Starbucks Corporation, who informed McCoy that her new availability met the company's requirements.



Despite her efforts to follow proper procedure, McCoy was told by manager Scott Creed that if she did not add an additional 30 minutes to her weekly availability, she would be terminated after four years of service to the Starbucks corporation.



"I feel like I am being targeted right now because I am part of the union," says McCoy. "My commitment to my job was never questioned until I joined the union. I'm a single mother working to put myself through college on my own so I can improve my life for my family. A company that claims to support women in the workplace is threatening to put me out of a job over half an hour. This has nothing to do with my availability and everything to do with my union."



On the 14th of August members of the Industrial Workers of the World Nebraska General Membership Branch confronted Creed with an Unfair Labor Practice charge, alleging intimidation to union members for his threat to fire McCoy. Two months ago, Starbucks settled three Unfair Labor Practice charges regarding anti union practices that had taken place at the 15th and Douglas and 72nd and Dodge Starbucks locations in Omaha.

For more information contact :



Tyler Swain (Organizing Delegate Liaison) 402-671-4137



Sasha McCoy (Union Organizer) 402-812-3238



Samantha Anne Marie (Union Organizer) 402-669-8479

