What does your coffee taste of - exploitation?

Today there is a day of acton directed against the Starbucks Coffee chain, organised by No Sweat, the IWW and others.

There will be protests in many parts of the UK, calling for "justice from bean to cup". The point is not only does Starbucks (and most other coffee house chains, to be honest) exploit the growers and suppliers of its coffee - but it also then exploits workers in this country and seeks to deny them their rights to join a trade union. Like similar initiatives in the fast food industry in other parts of the world, the IWW in the UK is trying to challenge that directly by setting up Baristas United, a direct action trade union for coffee workers.

This is an experiment that those of us in established trade unions should watch with interest. While our unions may be big and powerful, they are often not fast or responsive to members' needs. We have too much on our plates, and too many demands on our time. Too few reps are handling too many individual casework issues. While the Baristas United website reports successes in individual casework, its focus is on collective direct action by workers to challenge their immediate bosses. That's what we mean when we talk about making our unions "organising" rather than "servicing" unions, but I have to say making the change is proving hard work for many of us. Perhaps we can learn from the dynamism of the IWW?

Anyway, I will be at the Leicester protest outside Starbucks this morning, so if you're popping in for a coffee, I will see you there!