The United Auto Worker's strike this past fall demonstrated a revitalization of the American labor movements. The new UAW contract and their future plans illustrate the role they plan to play in a just climate transition.

The post Revitalized UAW Connects Labor Militancy and a Just Transition appeared first on YDSA.

Tip 1: Identify the sources of stress in your life

Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. This isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. While it’s easy to identify major stressors such as changing jobs, moving, or going through a divorce, pinpointing the sources of chronic stress can be more complicated. It’s all too easy to overlook how your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors contribute to your everyday stress levels.

Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines, but maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that is causing the stress.

To identify what’s really stressing you out, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses:

• Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather?
• Do you define stress as an integral part of your work or home life (“Things are always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous energy, that’s all”)?
• Do you blame your stress on other people or outside events, or view it as entirely normal and unexceptional?

Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining it, your stress level will remain outside your control.

Start a stress journal

A stress journal can help you identify the regular stressors in your life and the way you deal with them. Each time you feel stressed, make a note of it in your journal or use a stress tracker on your phone. Keeping a daily log will enable you to see patterns and common themes. Write down:

• What caused your stress (make a guess if you’re unsure).
• How you felt, both physically and emotionally.
• How you acted in response.
• What you did to make yourself feel better.

Tip 2: Cut out unhealthy ways of dealing with stress

Many of us feel so stressed out, we resort to unhealthy and unproductive ways to cope. A lot of these unhelpful strategies can temporarily reduce stress, but in the long run, they actually cause even more damage:

• Smoking, drinking too much, or using drugs to relax.
• Bingeing on junk or comfort food.
• Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or phone.
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and social activities.
• Sleeping too much.
• Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems.
• Procrastinating.
• Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence).

If your methods of coping with stress aren’t contributing to your greater emotional and physical health, it’s time to find healthier ones that leave you feeling calm and in control.

Tip 3: Practice the 4 A’s of stress management

While stress is an automatic response from your nervous system, some stressors arise at predictable times: your commute to work, a meeting with your boss, or family gatherings, for example. When handling such predictable stressors, you can either change the situation or change your reaction. 

When deciding which option to choose in any given scenario, it’s helpful to think of the four A’s: avoid, alter, adapt, or accept.

Avoid unnecessary stress

It’s not healthy to avoid a stressful situation that needs to be addressed, but you may be surprised by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate.

Learn how to say “no.” Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress. 

Avoid people who stress you out. If someone consistently causes stress in your life, limit the amount of time you spend with that person, or end the relationship.

Take control of your environment. If the evening news makes you anxious, turn off the TV. If traffic makes you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.

Avoid hot-button topics. If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion.

Pare down your to-do list. Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.” Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.

Alter the situation

If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Often, this involves changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life.

Express your feelings instead of bottling them up. If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build and the stress will increase.

Be willing to compromise. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground.

Be more assertive. Don’t take a backseat in your own life. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got an exam to study for and your chatty roommate just got home, say up front that you only have five minutes to talk.

Find balance. All work and no play is a recipe for burnout. Try to find a balance between work and family life, social activities and solitary pursuits, daily responsibilities and downtime.

Adapt to the stressor

If you can’t change the stressor, change yourself. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by changing your expectations and attitude.

Reframe problems. Try to view stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Rather than fuming about a traffic jam, look at it as an opportunity to pause and regroup, listen to your favorite radio station, or enjoy some alone time.

Look at the big picture. Take perspective of the stressful situation. Ask yourself how important it will be in the long run. Will it matter in a month? A year? Is it really worth getting upset over? If the answer is no, focus your time and energy elsewhere.

Adjust your standards. Perfectionism is a major source of avoidable stress. Stop setting yourself up for failure by demanding perfection. Set reasonable standards for yourself and others, and learn to be okay with “good enough.”

Practice gratitude. When stress is getting you down, take a moment to reflect on all the things you appreciate in your life, including your own positive qualities and gifts. This simple strategy can help you keep things in perspective.

Accept the things you can’t change

Some sources of stress are unavoidable. You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the best way to cope with stress is to accept things as they are. Acceptance may be difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier than railing against a situation you can’t change.

Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Many things in life are beyond our control, particularly the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control such as the way you choose to react to problems.

Look for the upside. When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from your mistakes.

Learn to forgive. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments. Free yourself from negative energy by forgiving and moving on.

Share your feelings. Expressing what you’re going through can be very cathartic, even if there’s nothing you can do to alter the stressful situation. Talk to a trusted friend or make an appointment with a therapist.

Tip 4: Get moving

When you’re stressed, the last thing you probably feel like doing is getting up and exercising. But physical activity is a huge stress reliever—and you don’t have to be an athlete or spend hours in a gym to experience the benefits. Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good, and it can also serve as a valuable distraction from your daily worries.

While you’ll get the most benefit from regularly exercising for 30 minutes or more, it’s okay to build up your fitness level gradually. Even very small activities can add up over the course of a day. The first step is to get yourself up and moving. Here are some easy ways to incorporate exercise into your daily schedule:

• Put on some music and dance around.
• Take your dog for a walk.
• Walk or cycle to the grocery store.
• Use the stairs at home or work rather than an elevator.
• Park your car in the farthest spot in the lot and walk the rest of the way.
• Pair up with an exercise partner and encourage each other as you work out.
• Play ping-pong or an activity-based video game with your kids.

Deal with stress with mindful rhythmic exercise

While just about any form of physical activity can help burn away tension and stress, rhythmic activities are especially effective. Good choices include walking, running, swimming, dancing, cycling, tai chi, and aerobics. But whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you enjoy so you’re more likely to stick with it.

While you’re exercising, make a conscious effort to pay attention to your body and the physical (and sometimes emotional) sensations you experience as you’re moving. Focus on coordinating your breathing with your movements, for example, or notice how the air or sunlight feels on your skin. Adding this mindfulness element will help you break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that often accompanies overwhelming stress.

Tip 5: Connect to others

There is nothing more calming than spending quality time with another human being who makes you feel safe and understood. In fact, face-to-face interaction triggers a cascade of hormones that counteracts the body’s defensive “fight-or-flight” response. It’s nature’s natural stress reliever (as an added bonus, it also helps stave off depression and anxiety). So make it a point to connect regularly—and in person—with family and friends.

Keep in mind that the people you talk to don’t have to be able to fix your stress. They simply need to be good listeners. And try not to let worries about looking weak or being a burden keep you from opening up. The people who care about you will be flattered by your trust. It will only strengthen your bond.

Of course, it’s not always realistic to have a pal close by to lean on when you feel overwhelmed by stress, but by building and maintaining a network of close friends you can improve your resiliency to life’s stressors.

Tips for building relationships

1. Reach out to a colleague at work.
2. Help someone else by volunteering.
3. Have lunch or coffee with a friend.
4. Ask a loved one to check in with you regularly.
5. Accompany someone to the movies or a concert.
6. Call or email an old friend.
7. Go for a walk with a workout buddy.
8. Schedule a weekly dinner date.
9. Meet new people by taking a class or joining a club.
10. Confide in a clergy member, teacher, or sports coach.

Tip 6: Make time for fun and relaxation

Beyond a take-charge approach and a positive attitude, you can reduce stress in your life by carving out “me” time. Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you forget to take care of your own needs. Nurturing yourself is a necessity, not a luxury. If you regularly make time for fun and relaxation, you’ll be in a better place to handle life’s stressors.

Set aside leisure time. Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach. This is your time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge your batteries.

Do something you enjoy every day. Make time for leisure activities that bring you joy, whether it be stargazing, playing the piano, or working on your bike.

Keep your sense of humor. This includes the ability to laugh at yourself. The act of laughing helps your body fight stress in a number of ways.

Take up a relaxation practice. Relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing activate the body’s relaxation response, a state of restfulness that is the opposite of the fight or flight or mobilization stress response. As you learn and practice these techniques, your stress levels will decrease and your mind and body will become calm and centered.

Tip 7: Manage your time better

Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. Plus, you’ll be tempted to avoid or cut back on all the healthy things you should be doing to keep stress in check, like socializing and getting enough sleep. The good news: there are things you can do to achieve a healthier work-life balance.

Don’t over-commit yourself. Avoid scheduling things back-to-back or trying to fit too much into one day. All too often, we underestimate how long things will take.

Prioritize tasks. Make a list of tasks you have to do, and tackle them in order of importance. Do the high-priority items first. If you have something particularly unpleasant or stressful to do, get it over with early. The rest of your day will be more pleasant as a result.

Break projects into small steps. If a large project seems overwhelming, make a step-by-step plan. Focus on one manageable step at a time, rather than taking on everything at once.

Delegate responsibility. You don’t have to do it all yourself, whether at home, school, or on the job. If other people can take care of the task, why not let them? Let go of the desire to control or oversee every little step. You’ll be letting go of unnecessary stress in the process.

Tip 8: Maintain balance with a healthy lifestyle

In addition to regular exercise, there are other healthy lifestyle choices that can increase your resistance to stress.

Eat a healthy diet. Well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress, so be mindful of what you eat. Start your day right with breakfast, and keep your energy up and your mind clear with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day.

Reduce caffeine and sugar. The temporary “highs” caffeine and sugar provide often end with a crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, and sugar snacks in your diet, you’ll feel more relaxed and you’ll sleep better.

Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Self-medicating with alcohol or drugs may provide an easy escape from stress, but the relief is only temporary. Don’t avoid or mask the issue at hand; deal with problems head on and with a clear mind.

Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress because it may cause you to think irrationally.

Tip 9: Learn to relieve stress in the moment

When you’re frazzled by your morning commute, stuck in a stressful meeting at work, or fried from another argument with your spouse, you need a way to manage your stress levels right now. That’s where quick stress relief comes in.

The fastest way to reduce stress is by taking a deep breath and using your senses—what you see, hear, taste, and touch—or through a soothing movement. By viewing a favorite photo, smelling a specific scent, listening to a favorite piece of music, tasting a piece of gum, or hugging a pet, for example, you can quickly relax and focus yourself.

Of course, not everyone responds to each sensory experience in the same way. The key to quick stress relief is to experiment and discover the unique sensory experiences that work best for you.

Original: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-management.htm

The post Stress Management: How to Reduce and Relieve Stress appeared first on Central NJ DSA.

Unaddressed income and wealth inequality has produced staggering child poverty in the City, with low income support for Black and brown families plus additional assault from toxic lead exposure.

Socialists can use a basic understanding of international rules to challenge intentional distortions of international law weaponized by the powerful. 

As the DSA continues its fight to realize the Green New Deal, we have much to learn from both the wins and the setbacks the fight for public power has sustained this year. 

Bill Fletcher Jr.'s newest novel uses working-class realities as fuel for gripping mystery.

Here’s your December Dispatch! This month, Green New Deal calls, political education on Palestine, workplace organizing trainings, and more. Read on to get involved.

And to make sure you get our newsletters in your inbox, sign up here! Each one features action alerts, upcoming events, political education, and more.

• From Maria — Why DSA?
• Saturday 12/9 — Understanding the Israeli–Palestinian Colonial Conflict
• RSVP for Saturday 12/9 International Committee Okinawa to Palestine Call
• Sunday 12/10 — Empower DSA Kids Event: Building Understanding and Support for Palestine
• Join our Wednesday 12/13 Ceasefire Now for People and Planet Call
• Green New Dues Call Monday 12/18 — RSVP Today
• Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee Foundational Training — In Spanish Too! Starts 1/10/24
• New Socialist Forum Out Now
• National Budget Call Recording
• Welcome New Organizing Committees and Chapters!

From Maria — Why DSA? 

Raising Expectations (And Raising Hell): My Decade Fighting for the Labor Movement is perhaps less familiar to some members than Jane McAlevey’s later books like No Shortcuts. But it opens with the gripping story about how depending on business as usual and institutions stacked against us rather than street pressure and grassroots mobilization impacted the Bush vs Gore presidential election. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor cast the deciding vote in December 2020 to stop the Florida recount.

McAlevey describes herself asking, about the labor and progressive response at the time, “the American electoral process is breaking up like the Titanic and we don’t want to rock the boat?” I think of this as we face down authoritarianism at home and genocide abroad, and I’m so glad we have DSA.

Last week’s White House vigil brought together the three arenas of DSA work — electoral, labor and community organizing — with one message: let Gaza live. We are building real working class power in our workplaces, through elections, and in the streets. We are fighting on many issues but with one core analysis, that the boss class exploits the working class however it can. We can win if and only when we unite in solidarity and actually use our disruptive mass power.

This year I ask you to contribute to DSA’s financial stability by paying Solidarity Income Based Dues, particularly as we expand our member-led structure with newly elected National Co-chairs Megan and Ashik and Labor Co-chairs Sarah and Ryan. DSA members don’t sit lonely at home as we face climate change and fascism. We’re fighting, together, for democracy and socialism. We are independent of a few wealthy individuals or foundations because we fund ourselves, but we have a fundraising shortfall we can only fill if everyone chips in.

Maria Svart
DSA National Director

Saturday 12/9 — Understanding the Israeli–Palestinian Colonial Conflict

Join the DSA National Political Education Committee on Saturday 12/9 at 12:30pm ET/11:30am CT/10:30am MT/9:30am PT for a presentation on Understanding the Israeli–Palestinian Colonial Conflict.

In 1967, after the Six-Day War, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published a hauntingly prescient ad signed by a dozen Israeli socialists. The ad stated in part, “Occupation entails foreign rule. Foreign rule entails resistance. Resistance entails repression. Repression entails terror and counter-terror. Victims of terror are mostly innocent people. Holding onto the occupied territories will make us into a nation of murderers and murder victims.”

How should we understand what is happening in Gaza and across occupied Palestine? How does history help us understand and interpret the present? What can we do now to shape the future? Moshé Machover and Sumaya Awad will help us answer these questions. 

Moshé Machover was born in 1936 in Tel Aviv and lives in London. As a student, he joined the Israeli Communist Party, from which he was expelled in 1962 with other party dissidents who challenged the ICP’s lack of internal democracy and subservience to the Soviet Union. That year, he founded the Socialist Organisation In Israel, better known by the name of its journal, Matzpen. He has written extensively on socialist theory, Israel, the Middle East, and the Israeli-Palestinian colonial conflict. A collection of his essays, Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Resolution, was published in 2012. Many of his more recent articles were published in Weekly Worker.

Sumaya Awad is a Palestinian activist and writer dedicated to advocating for the rights of all Palestinians, immigrants, and refugees. She has been published and interviewed in outlets including The Feminist Wire, Truthout, In These Times, The Middle East Solidarity Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Slate. She is co-editor of Palestine: A Socialist Introduction.

RSVP for Saturday 12/9 International Committee Okinawa to Palestine Call

Join our reportback on the recent DSA delegation to Okinawa with ZENKO! This event will be on Saturday 12/9 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT. On this call, you’ll hear from speakers in Okinawa on their struggles against military occupation and colonialism, and the parallels to Palestine today.

Sunday 12/10 — Empower DSA Kids Event: Building Understanding and Support for Palestine

Join the DSA National Political Education Committee for a special event to empower children of all ages with knowledge, compassion, and social-emotional skills to confidently support the Palestinian people during these challenging times! The call will be on Sunday 12/10 at 12:30pm ET/11:30am CT/10:30am MT/9:30am PT.

On this call, author Rifk Ebeid will present her heartwarming children’s book, “You Are The Color.” This engaging story inspires young minds and promotes unity and understanding. And be the first to see a video inspired by her story “Baba, what does my name mean?” The video provides context and support for children grappling with the ongoing tragedy in Palestine.

The call will also include a teacher’s insights on social-emotional learning strategies for these difficult times. Learn how to navigate emotions, express feelings, and foster empathy in the face of ongoing challenges. In the midst of the distressing events in Palestine, it’s crucial to provide a safe space for children to learn, express themselves, and stand in solidarity with the cause.

Join our Wednesday 12/13 Ceasefire Now for People and Planet Call

In the past months, DSA has mobilized to end the Israeli siege on Gaza and its illegal, US-funded occupation of Palestine. Join DSA’s Green New Deal Campaign Commission and the International Committee Wednesday 12/13 at 4pm ET/3pm CT/2pm MT/1pm PT for our Ceasefire Now for People and Planet call!

This panel brings together organizers and experts to discuss this resurgence of a left anti-war movement in the context of the climate crisis and explore how organizers can deepen internationalism and anti-militarism within domestic ecosocialist and abolitionist organizing. Panelists will discuss how Palestinian liberation is central to the climate justice movement — and why demilitarization is not only socially necessary, but a requirement for meeting climate and environmental goals.

Green New Dues Call Monday 12/18 — RSVP Today

Team up with the Green New Deal Campaign Commission to call our comrades about Green New Dues! We’ll focus on the exciting progress we’re making across the country on the Green New Deal — like winning the Building Public Renewables Campaign in New York earlier this year — when asking members to contribute 1% of their income to DSA as Solidarity Dues. The call will be held on Monday 12/18 at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT. Join us!

Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee Foundational Training — In Spanish Too! Starts 1/10/24

Trying to organize your workplace? Want to support others organizing their workplaces?

Join the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee’s Foundational Training to learn how to organize workers. This four-part series introduces workers and non-unionized shop organizers to the basics of organizing a workplace. 

This winter, on Wednesdays in January, we will be hosting our second BILINGUAL training series. Sign up today, or share with Spanish-speaking coworkers, friends, and family!

In four 90-minute weekly sessions, we will discuss how workers can unite to address issues at their workplace and how to begin the process of unionization. Participants will hear from experienced organizers and other workers organizing their own workplaces. They will practice connecting with coworkers and engaging in collective decision-making around common concerns. Participants will learn how to prepare themselves and their coworkers to take collective action. Finally, they will learn how to lay the groundwork for unionization.

The sessions will be held at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5 pm PT. Space is limited to 200 participants. Register Here!

¿Estás intentando organizar tu lugar de trabajo? ¿Quieres apoyar a los demás a organizar los suyos?

Participa en la Serie de Capacitación Fundamental del Comité para la Organización Laboral de Emergencia (EWOC) para aprender cómo organizar a los trabajadores. Será una serie de cuatro partes que presenta a los trabajadores y organizadores de lugares de trabajo no sindicalizados los aspectos básicos de la organización de un lugar de trabajo.

Este invierno, los miércoles de enero, presentaremos nuestra segunda serie de capacitación BILINGÜE. ¡Regístrese hoy o comparta con sus compañeros de trabajo, amigos y familiares de habla hispana!

En cuatro sesiones semanales de 90 minutos, enseñamos cómo los trabajadores pueden unirse para abordar los problemas en su lugar de trabajo y cómo comenzar el proceso de sindicalización. Los participantes escucharán a organizadores experimentados y otros trabajadores que están organizando sus propios lugares de trabajo. Practicarán conectarse con los compañeros de trabajo y cómo participar en la toma de decisiones colectivas en torno a asuntos comunes. Los participantes aprenderán a prepararse a sí mismos y a sus compañeros de trabajo para emprender acciones colectivas. Finalmente, aprenderán cómo sentar las bases para la sindicalización.

Las sesiones se llevarán a cabo a las 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT. El espacio está limitado a 200 participantes. ¡Registrate aquí!

New Socialist Forum Out Now

The Fall 2023 issue of Socialist Forum, DSA’s quarterly long-form publication of theory, strategy, and debate, is now live. This issue tackles a wide range of topics, including:

• Democratic socialist electoral strategy and party building
• How should DSA engage with the Latin American Left?
• Lessons learned from recent strikes at the University of California
• Reflections on the US democratic socialist tradition

As always, we welcome responses and feedback at socialistforum@dsausa.org.

National Budget Call Recording

DSA is a membership-led and membership-funded organization, with the vast majority of our funding coming from membership dues. This guarantees that our resources come from our source of power: organized people. Our funding and our power are inextricably linked. Dues allow our organization to be accountable to our members and our members alone. On 12/5, members of DSA’s Budget and Finance Committee and national staff reported on DSA’s 2023 budget and projected financial position at the end of the calendar year.

Understanding our financial health as the National Political Committee prepares to decide the 2024 budget will aid in building sustainable funding models that can support our collective work for the long haul. As DSA members, we have a responsibility to make strategic decisions about where, when, and how we use our resources. How we raise and spend our money has political consequences for our work. That work includes grassroots fundraising: it’s part of building solidarity and power. We can’t build an independent working-class organization without the financial support of working class people.

Welcome New Organizing Committees and Chapters!

A warm welcome to our latest Organizing Committees (OCs) and chapters!

New OCs:

• Big Island, Hawaii
• Palouse, Washington

New chapters:

• Salina, Kansas
• West Sound, Oregon

The post Why DSA? Your December Dispatch appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

By Vanessa Bartlett

At the start of the holiday season, unionized Starbucks workers at hundreds of stores went on strike to demand that Starbucks sit down at the bargaining table with workers. Community members also mobilized to hand out fliers in front of non-union stores, encouraging customers to call Starbucks and share their support for workers. 

Red Cup Day is an annual event where Starbucks locations give out reusable red coffee cups to customers who order holiday-themed drinks. This promotion is highly anticipated by ‘Bucks aficionados, and is typically one of the most profitable days of the year for Starbucks. 

This year, Starbucks experienced a noticeable decrease in sales on Red Cup Day in comparison to last year. This dip in foot traffic may have been caused by the Red Cup Rebellion and other efforts to boycott Starbucks as a part of a BDS strategy for supporting Palestine.

Due to chronic understaffing, employees say this day is also one of the worst days to work at Starbucks. Cody Hale, who works at the Newton Corner Starbucks, said that the location experienced a high volume of orders–over 80 orders every 30 minutes on the morning of Red Cup Day. 

Pre-covid, Hale said that Red Cup Days might have been adequately staffed, but post-covid, “not so much”. 

Hale said “We didn’t have as many campaign supporters [on the picket line] this time, as opposed to our first strike back in January. But it was still pretty productive.”

“We did our best to inform and educate the customers about what’s going on with the strike… and we managed to get a lot of people to walk away, and go elsewhere, like Dunkin,” Hale said.

Long lines and wait times for drinks are issues that Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) hopes to address in a contract with Starbucks. But two years after the first Starbucks unionized in Buffalo, NY, the company has dragged its feet in bargaining.

“All these strikes wouldn’t be happening if [Starbucks] didn’t delay,” said Hale. “I just wish that they would get it done faster, and actually come to the bargaining table.” 

Matthew Schreiner, a member of Boston DSA who participated in a flyering event at a Starbucks location in Medford, said that customers responded positively to workers’ demands. “The Boston area seems to be pretty receptive,” Schreiner said. “They were quite enthusiastically accepting the cards. Various people ran out of cards. So I’m guessing they gave away a couple hundred [flyers].”

Despite feeling the pressure from community members, Starbucks has played the tough guy in the press, and shows no indication of being willing to come to the bargaining table any time soon. 
As their tally of unfair labor practices against union stores grows, Starbucks can certainly expect SBWU to continue catching the public eye (and hurting their bottom line) with tactical protests like this year’s Red Cup Rebellion.

Vanessa Bartlett is a staff organizer for UAW, and a member of Boston DSA. She has a background in print and radio journalism, but please don’t hold that against her.

The post North NJ DSA to Join CAIR-NJ and Ceasefire JC Coalition in Support of Jersey City Ceasefire Resolution first appeared on North NJ DSA.