Unionize Buffalo Starbucks? 😂

[Doc]

38 minutes ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

Question for you guys: The only coffee that I drink is a cup or two of generic black coffee out of the pot at the office. What is the reason that people are obsessed with Starbucks coffee?

 

It appears to be a status symbol.  As in "I'm rich enough to overspend on coffee!"

[Tiberius]

40 minutes ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

Question for you guys: The only coffee that I drink is a cup or two of generic black coffee out of the pot at the office. What is the reason that people are obsessed with Starbucks coffee?

My guess, because of the sugar loaded snacks that they also sell with the coffee. 

[Orlando Tim]

4 hours ago, The Frankish Reich said:

Unions provide the single best vehicle within the U.S. economic system for bringing back the "forgotten" middle class that both parties focus their campaigns on. I have no doubt that unions became too powerful/too obstructionist back in the 1970s and 1980s; they contributed to their own decline. But over the last 35 years or so we've seen the drop-off in unionized jobs go in lockstep with increasing income and wealth inequality in this country. It is time for some rebalancing here.

I for one applaud the concept of shifting more power to workers and employee through the time-honored mechanism of collective bargaining rather than the newfangled approaches like giving away money through increased "refundable" (read: you get a tax refund even if you didn't pay any taxes) child tax credits, universal basic income, etc., etc. Collective bargaining shifts the balance of power in the employer-employee relationship without creating burdensome new entitlements - entitlements that don't necessarily reward work, and sometimes actually reward not working.

How about we give workers power simply by making jobs highly available? Unions are currently only useful in jobs where safety issues are a major concern otherwise they simply take money when you can simply switch jobs to the higher paying place. When cashier's at Costco can make $30 an hour the issue is people not worth the money they want.

[nkreed]

1 hour ago, Niagara Bill said:

If you need job protection at a coffee shop you need more help than a union can give you, and the hiring manager should ge fired fir employing you. Just saying.

This isn't just about Starbucks. This is about the retail industry as a whole. There's an entire population of people who work at multiple retail industry jobs and have NO access to an employer benefit package, retirement, paid time off, or any other perk you can think of. Prior to the pandemic, these were the only jobs that could be had, since the pay stinks and you get treated like junk. This industry is no longer filled with "teenagers looking to get a few dollars," but rather with people who have lost their jobs due to outsourcing and/or those who were deemed to be overqualified for positions. The teenagers will also take some jobs too, but the industry has gotten away with deplorable conditions and pay for a long time now. I need to repeat this, this is not JUST about Starbucks. 

 

Organizing just doesn't happen, btw. This could have been in the works since before COVID, and it came to fruition now. Also, for those saying they will just close the Elmwood store, they very well may, but a positive outcome will start a chain reaction within the area to organize. It is likely that the contested store will also approve of the Union since there are 6 contested votes and the Union is up by 5. The Union also is requesting for 3 more stores to vote. 

 

On a side note, it's not too surprising that Buffalo voted for the first union at a company owned Starbucks. The union density in WNY is 10% higher than the national average. 

 

 

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

1 hour ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

Question for you guys: The only coffee that I drink is a cup or two of generic black coffee out of the pot at the office. What is the reason that people are obsessed with Starbucks coffee?

I have only had Starbucks at business meetings and I didn’t like it.  No idea as to the allure. 

[Wacka]

I rarely drink coffee. If I go to Timmy's and get a sandwich, I buy a lemonade or a pop.

[Logic]

2 hours ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

Question for you guys: The only coffee that I drink is a cup or two of generic black coffee out of the pot at the office. What is the reason that people are obsessed with Starbucks coffee?

My theory is that it's because most Americans, by and large, don't actually like coffee. This is confirmed by the ungodly amounts of sugar and cream that so many people have to add to their cup just to make it palatable to them, or the "instant coffee" swill that qualifies as legitimate coffee for so many people.

Have you seen the drinks most people order at Starbucks? Sheesh. To give you an idea, their signature beverage that they're pushing right now is a toasted white chocolate mocha frappuccino 🤢. Or how about a Cozy Caramel Brulee latte?

So if you want to find a way to get your morning caffeine fix in a sugary, calorie-filled, frozen blended diabetes bomb that pretends to be coffee but totally isn't, Starbucks is the place for you!



 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Ahhh yes the workers fairy tail of unionization for the economically illiterate.

 

fight the power the evil corporation has over you by pledging allegiance to another organization to have control over you. 

 

Maybe just maybe, filling coffee into a paper cup shouldn’t be considered of as a career. 

[Logic]

4 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

Ahhh yes the workers fairy tail of unionization for the economically illiterate.

 

fight the power the evil corporation has over you by pledging allegiance to another organization to have control over you. 

 

Maybe just maybe, filling coffee into a paper cup shouldn’t be considered of as a career. 

Ahhh yes, the age old, smug-beyond-belief "service industry shouldn't be your career!" admonishment that completely ignores the reality of 2021 America.

Never gets old.

 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

28 minutes ago, Logic said:

Ahhh yes, the age old, smug-beyond-belief "service industry shouldn't be your career!" admonishment that completely ignores the reality of 2021 America.

Never gets old.

 

Which reality?   the one where every high paying technical job in the country is getting taken by H1B visas because ‘Mercia’ sociology grads who thought math was for nerds feel entitled to six figure salaries to pour hot water into a cup? 

By all means go forth and unionize these unskilled jobs away, we’ll replace you with robots that have much better attitudes and do everything better and cheaper. 

 

Edited December 10, 2021 by Over 29 years of fanhood

[LeviF]

2 hours ago, Chef Jim said:

Their coffee sucks.  Get a Nespresso machine and have the best coffee out there for $1.10 a cup and you don't even have to put pants on if you don't want to. 

 

Sheeeeeeeeeeple.  

Who says I need to put pants on to buy coffee?

[LeviF]

7 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

Which reality?   the one where every high paying technical job in the country is getting taken by H1B visas because sociology grads who thought math was for nerds feel entitled to six figure salaries to pour hot water into a cup? 

By all means go forth and unionize these unskilled jobs away, we’ll replace you with robots that have much better attitudes and do everything better and cheaper. 

 

Meanwhile the folks squeezed out of the better paying jobs because of unlimited immigration continue to vote for same. 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

2 hours ago, Doc said:

 

It appears to be a status symbol.  As in "I'm rich enough to overspend on coffee!"

Or symbolic of a poor business decision making ability.  Same difference I suppose 

 

 

 

15 minutes ago, LeviF said:

Who says I need to put pants on to buy coffee?

The Frappuccino blenders guild ?

[Chef Jim]

28 minutes ago, LeviF said:

Who says I need to put pants on to buy coffee?

Most likely the person in line behind you. 

[Doc Brown]

On 12/8/2021 at 9:16 PM, Wacka said:

They'll be killing the name in WNY. Timmy's has several times more stores. Almost all the Dunkins closed. There are 3 Timmys within 1.5 miles of me.

I had one of their new cracked egg breakfast sandwich a few months ago and it was maybe the worst tasting breakfast sandwich I ever had.  It was cold, dry, and the egg tasted rubbery.  I went back the next week or so to buy a coffee and was going to make a complaint at the drive thru.  Then the kid working there said the person in the car in front of me in line paid for my order.  I decided just to say thank you and not bring it up and paid for the car behind me.  I'm not a sentimental person usually but that was the closest thing to "pay it forward" that I ever experienced.  (I'll admit I asked how much the order behind me was before paying for it ).

[nkreed]

9 hours ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

Which reality?   the one where every high paying technical job in the country is getting taken by H1B visas because ‘Mercia’ sociology grads who thought math was for nerds feel entitled to six figure salaries to pour hot water into a cup? 

By all means go forth and unionize these unskilled jobs away, we’ll replace you with robots that have much better attitudes and do everything better and cheaper. 

 

Weren't these the jobs that were plentiful and unionized before? Are you telling me that those who worked on the production lines or in other manufacturing facilities were skilled jobs? Other than the mechanics, electricians and other specialities, what part of these plants were "skilled."

 

This robot comment keeps being brought up over and over. But really, where has it happened? I thought robots were going to take over the retail industry because of the fight for $15. 

 

You really have an upsidedown view of the retail industry and how they treat workers. Remember these jobs are now being filled by all parts of society, not just teenagers.

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

1 minute ago, nkreed said:

Weren't these the jobs that were plentiful and unionized before? Are you telling me that those who worked on the production lines or in other manufacturing facilities were skilled jobs? Other than the mechanics, electricians and other specialities, what part of these plants were "skilled."

 

This robot comment keeps being brought up over and over. But really, where has it happened? I thought robots were going to take over the retail industry because of the fight for $15. 

 

You really have an upsidedown view of the retail industry and how they treat workers. Remember these jobs are now being filled by all parts of society, not just teenagers.

You described the working conditions as “deplorable” up a couple posts.  Here, you’ve compared working in retail to working in the other unionized industries like auto production and steel mills before those industries organized 80+ years ago.   
 

What specifically makes the 6 hour slug at Starbucks “deplorable”? 
 

Btw, here’s an example of Starbucks benefit package for employees. 
 

https://www.starbucks.com/assets/7343fbbdc87845ff9a000ee009707893.pdf

 

 

Finally, you keep mentioning that these jobs aren’t just for teenagers anymore.  Why does that matter to the employer, if the job can be done by a teenager after study hall to begin with?  
 

I’m not anti-union, but feel like I’m pro-common sense.   My father and mother were both union members, as are/were many members of my family. 

[ALF]

Very profitable companies should have profit sharing with it's workers. That would include Amazon , Walmart ....

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

29 minutes ago, nkreed said:

Weren't these the jobs that were plentiful and unionized before? Are you telling me that those who worked on the production lines or in other manufacturing facilities were skilled jobs? Other than the mechanics, electricians and other specialities, what part of these plants were "skilled."

 

This robot comment keeps being brought up over and over. But really, where has it happened? I thought robots were going to take over the retail industry because of the fight for $15. 

 

You really have an upsidedown view of the retail industry and how they treat workers. Remember these jobs are now being filled by all parts of society, not just teenagers.

You’re making my point. Labor unions for unskilled workers in particular are business killers. Unions are what killed Buffalo. Go ahead and research that one. Sure it’s a nice idea for the rank and file to have a domineering voice and be way over paid for jobs that any idiot can do for minimum wage until it  just becomes another corrupt political organization and lazy human nature takes over. 
 

I worked in union shops and non unions shops in the manufacturing world. Unions are business killers. Also, most western factories have automated labor out significantly over the years, prioritizing high wage and unionized labor forces first. 
 

Now to retail… Retail industry waiter and waitress are meant to be entry level not career paths. If entry level wait staff is a career objective then that’s on you. Also, you apparently have missed what the automation of shopping (Amazon) has done to retail (have you been to a shopping mall in the past 5 years?) it’s withering and dying. 

 

job comp should be commensurate with how easy it is to find people to do it and what they are willing to work for. Make it artificially over costly and suffer the inevitable consequences. Labor laws provide workers plenty of protections in 2021. 

 

Look- if all you pro union hypocrites practiced what you preached and bought the more expensive lower quality goods because it had a made by union labor stamp on it, unions would be all the rage. Unfortunately you want your unions because it sounds nice, but in your economic illiteracy fail to realize you need to subsidize that with your purchasing decision. 

[SoCal Deek]

28 minutes ago, ALF said:

Very profitable companies should have profit sharing with it's workers. That would include Amazon , Walmart ....

Would the employees also then share the losses?