Solidarity is Brewing! Chapter Toolkit
Starbucks partners across the country are standing up and fighting for dignity, safety, and respect in the workplace. And DSA members across the country are standing with and supporting these brave workers. We’ve put together a toolkit with resources on how your chapter can support the Starbucks Workers United movement that is sweeping across the country!
Table of Contents
- Solidarity is Brewing! Chapter Toolkit
- Table of Contents
- Why does DSA prioritize solidarity with organizing Starbucks workers?
- What can a member do anywhere?
- What can a chapter do before a store files?
- What can a chapter do after a store files?
- How can DSLC members build Starbucks Solidarity?
Why does DSA prioritize solidarity with organizing Starbucks workers?
Starbucks stores across the country are unionizing in a historic campaign that could result in the unionization of hundreds of Starbucks across the country. Extensive nationwide organization in the service sector would be an enormous victory for the multi-racial working class! Companies will do whatever they can to silence workers but we can help workers fight back.
What is Starbucks Workers United?
Workers United (WU) is an affiliate of the SEIU with a focus on autonomy for its locals (which they call joint boards). WU was formed in 2008 out of Unite, which broke into WU and Unite Here. Workers United Rochester Regional Joint Board organized Spot Coffee in Buffalo and Rochester in 2019, which laid the groundwork for the current Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) campaign. SBWU, like the Spot campaign before it, is focused on worker-led organizing and bargaining, with staff from the union providing legal support and training.
SBWU is currently a worker-led organizing campaign under WU that will be a “national local” for Starbucks workers.
Before starting up your work…
Keep in mind that nothing should be done for the workers without the workers. This is an extremely exciting moment in labor history and we all want to support these organizing efforts in any way that we can. However, it’s important that we never plan any kind of solidarity action for a specific Starbucks location without coordinating and getting explicit consent from the organizing committee or your point of contact at that store. It’s also very important to be conscious of having conversations about unionizing with workers in stores that are not public - you never know who may be around. What you think is a casual conversation could be putting a current or future campaign at risk. It’s always best to work through existing networks and contacts to build relationships with workers, and DSA is here to help with that!
Let’s Get Organizing!
What can a member do anywhere?
Adapted from ROP listicle
- Connect with SBWU by signing the No Contract, No Coffee! Pledge to act in solidarity with workers. Let SBWU know that you’re interested in supporting local workers with the Adopt-A-Store form.
- Connect to the DSA Labor Solidarity is Brewing Campaign by attending our monthly calls and other events that elevate worker-organizer voices and share solidarity resources.
- Listen to workers! If you don’t know for sure if a shop in your area is forming a union, then please do not go into the store to voice your support. We are all very excited! But, please, let’s not tip anyone’s hand. Instead, Tweet this. Follow and amplify SBWU, DSLC. (Sample Facebook Posts, Sample Twitter and Instagram Posts from WU)
- If you’re a Starbucks customer, be courteous to workers and tip well! If the store you go to has filed, use “Union Yes!” or “Union Strong” in your order name. The more often you do this, the better. Management is watching.
- If there’s a community board or other public bulletin board at a publicly organizing shop, leave notes of encouragement and voice your support for their union drive. Make sure the board is never not feeling the love, and post your pics on social media, tagging @sbworkersunited and @Starbucks. Note: this is not a lit drop, and is only to be done after a union campaign has gone public.
- Letters to the editor to support all organizing Starbucks workers or in support of workers at a specific store (be sure to check for the formatting specifics of the newspaper you’re submitting the letter to)
What can a chapter do BEFORE a store files?
- Statements of solidarity and letters to the editor, social media boosting
- Chapter political education events about nationwide Starbucks organizing and/or workplace organizing and workplace power mapping
- List work:
- Use information in the ActionKit report they receive from national DSA to activate chapter members using manual text outreach, email outreach, and Spoke campaigns. Track responses in a simple Google Sheet or however you prefer, but be sure to follow up with those who show interest in this work with ways to become involved!
- Host events like worker panels, issue conversations, or coffee industry socials and make sure people sign up with their contact information for follow-up.
- Set up a communication channel where local workers across the industry, at every step of the labor organizing process, can talk consistently with other local workers for coordination and advice. Chapters often use a Slack or Discord for this, but it’s ok to be creative!
- Identify chapter members (potentially not currently “in labor” but interested in getting involved) to lead in this work
- Goals:
- Identify any latent Starbucks connections/power mapping
- Build chapter leaders with experience in this type of organizing
- Introduce DSA members with no previous experience in labor organizing/solidarity work to it
- Create or invigorate labor formations
- Inspire DSA members to organize their own workplace and give them skills to do so
What can a chapter do AFTER a store files?
- How can a chapter or group reach out to Starbucks workers?
- Building connections with the workers! If you haven’t done the “what to do before a store files steps'' and are first hearing about a campaign when it goes public, you may need to activate people in your own chapter before you take on an external project.
- Put someone in charge of bottom-lining regular communication with each store
- Be clear about chapter capacity and follow through on proposals
- Avoid appearance as a “third party” by favoring interaction that builds broad community support for worker actions over tactics that increase visibility of the organization to local workers
- Chapters should prioritize reaching out to committees at stores directly, to see what their needs are and approve any solidarity actions. This can be done by asking SBWU directly for contacts or going into stores that have filed and gathering contact information from workers.
- Multi-chapter support calls hosted by DSLC starting in April
- Attend any local solidarity events
- Solidarity Actions:
- Chapter/WG letter of solidarity
- Invite organizing workers to speak at your chapter, branch, or working group meeting
- Community Flyering (using SBWU flyer or your own), tabling community events
- DSA Caravan: Represent DSA while ordering “Union Yes” coffee at the drive through, get as many DSA members and community supporters to do this within a designated few hours as possible. Encourage workers as you interact with them in the drive-thru.
- DSA Sip In: Represent DSA while ordering “Union Yes” coffee as a group, bring buttons for the workers, post solidarity messages on the community board, take pictures and share on social media.
- Community Rally (only do this with the consent and guidance of organizing workers)
- Graphics for yard signs, buttons, posters, and events
- Local Solidarity fund: Consider setting up a solidarity fund if one doesn’t exist, but be sure you’re in touch with the worker-organizers before setting it up. If a fund already exists, consider a DSA-specific effort to generate donations (events, panel discussions, social media campaign, etc.)
- Pressure Campaign on local elected officials (lower priority but could be used to list build on labor for local elections)
- Sample Letter to the Editor (from SBWU)
- Sample City Council Resolution (from SBWU)
- Strike support
How can DSLC members build Starbucks Solidarity?
- Activate their chapter around labor or connect someone newer to labor but interested in this campaign
- Union solidarity letters: organize within your union to get more union support via social media boosts and public declarations of solidarity
- Sample Resolution
- Solidarity ask from Members to Leadership (from Portland DSA)
- Organize Local Union caravan or "Sip In"
- Invite other union members to DSA solidarity actions
Additional Resources
- Inspired by Starbucks? Organize your workplace! Connect with EWOC
- Want to learn more about workplace organizing? Learn the basics at the next EWOC organizer training session
- Restaurant Organizing Project (ROP)
- Monthly calls
- Organizing resources, connections to workers organizing in the same industry
- The Dish is a resource for workers, and would love to feature more stories from Starbucks workers!
- Starbucks Workers United (SBWU)
- Reach out directly to the SBWU email sbworkersunited@gmail.com for help with coordinating national events or calls. Most committees are very supportive of DSA but best practice is to check with them to see what level of support will be most useful in maintaining a majority. Communicate with committees to see if some actions or support could alienate workers in the middle or will help boost morale in this or that store.
- Chapter Contributions to Unions
- Important compliance considerations & requirements regarding DSA chapter contributions to unions & union strike funds.
- Email compliance@dsausa.org with questions.
