By Tarang Saluja and Eli Gerzon 

Norwood, MA — On Saturday, July 8, between the early hours of 4 am to 8 am, Massachusetts saw its first Amazon picket. Teamsters and roughly 200 supporters from other unions and socialist organizations stood in solidarity to block about six tractor-trailers from entering the DCB4 Amazon warehouse in Norwood, Massachusetts. All tractor-trailer drivers chose to be in solidarity and honor the picket lines.

This picket was the Massachusetts extension of the Teamsters Local 396 picket in Palmdale, California. After Amazon delivery drivers and dispatchers in Palmdale unionized with the Teamsters and reached an agreement with Battle-Tested Strategies, a contractor for Amazon, Amazon refused to recognize the contract and committed multiple unfair labor practices, including the termination of all 84 workers in the bargaining unit. Since June 24, Local 396 has been picketing not only in Palmdale, but also multiple locations across the country. There was another picket on July 7 in Connecticut, and these actions have been leading up to Amazon’s large annual Prime Day promotion on July 11.

With this action, the Teamsters were able to use their position as a large union to mobilize around the country and employ a strategy that brought pickets to disrupt production and add pressure on Amazon around the country. “We’re just here to show Amazon we’re going to take this fight anywhere they want to take it,” said Cecilia Porter, a Teamsters Local 396 member and striking Amazon driver.

UPS workers, 340,000 of whom may go on strike August 1, were most prominent on the picket line. Greg Kerwood, a member of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) and a UPS driver, spoke to the common struggle in logistics. “Workers at Amazon do the same work, same job, same warehouse labor, same delivery labor. They deserve the benefits of a union contract, just like we enjoy at UPS.” 

Rand Wilson, a part-time organizer with TDU, understands that the battle will not be easy, likening the challenge to earlier, unsuccessful Walmart organizing efforts. However, he is excited to try out new strategies and expand organizing horizons. Wilson spoke to the importance of solidarity across unions, stating that “not just the Teamsters but every union needs to be involved in a campaign to unite these workers and to build power with the rank and file of Amazon.” 

Many other unions were there. Members of Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) showed up with “Our Fight is Your Fight!” signs. Far from a symbolic phrase, the Teamsters have offered concrete support for Starbucks workers. Julie Langevin, an ex-barista and current SBWU organizer, spoke to how Teamsters’ commitment to respect the picket line helped Starbucks workers at 874 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston maintain a strike for 64 days. 

“One of the most incredible things about the Teamsters and the fact that they deliver supplies to all of our shops is that they don’t cross picket lines…so when we have a picket line and we keep it going 24 hours a day for 64 days, Starbucks can’t possibly open that shop.”

Cecil Carey, a Boston Teachers Union (BTU) member, also spoke to how solidarity between the Teamsters and teachers leads to material wins. “I want my students and their families to be able to have living wages and stay in Boston. And so I care about every worker getting paid appropriately and getting justice at the worksite.” 

Anneta Argyres, president of the Professional Staff Union (PSUMTA) at UMass Boston, shares this concern for students and fellow workers at the university. “We are all facing the concerns about increasing cost of living and increasing inequality in our society … So I both see the struggles that our students at UMass Boston are having, trying to get an education and deal with that huge amount of debt, and I see what happens when we’re hiring new folks who are burdened with educational debt and trying to make ends meet and can’t even afford to work in a place like UMass Boston.”

Argyres also added that Amazon’s practices should concern all workers, warning that “if we allow employers to get away with the treatment that they want in Amazon warehouses, we’re all gonna be facing that same treatment.” 

Jacksyn Bakeberg, a mathematics graduate student worker in the Boston University Graduate Workers Union (BUGWU) and a leader in the Boston DSA Labor Working Group, also observed the parallels between the corporatization of higher education and Amazon’s increasing cruelty. “I think Amazon is changing the landscape of what work looks like in the United States and in the rest of the world. And similarly, we’re seeing a really changing business model in higher education… a shifting towards viewing higher education more as a business.”

For Steve Gillis, a bus driver in Boston for 37 years and member of the Boston School Bus Drivers Union, it is clear how the Amazon model affects bus drivers.  “Those of us who have been professional drivers… we see this model that Amazon is trying to push, like Uber and Lyft independent contractors. Workers? Not workers, no rights, no wages, no benefits, no unemployment, no workers’ compensation.”

He adds that fellow bus drivers have to work part-time at companies like Uber and Lyft to make ends meet. For Steve, this battle is part of the fight against “the corporate law in this country that allows Amazon to get away with this fiction and with this really illegal activity of not even treating their drivers like workers.”

This fight also extends to broader issues of social justice. Proudly wearing a SBWU shirt, Gillis was particularly animated about Strike with Pride, a strategy that SBWU has used to fight back against anti-LGBTQ attacks from Starbucks corporate. “Starbucks came in and ripped down rainbow flags. How fucking outrageous… joining, not only the Supreme Court, but right-wing legislatures and fascists across the country attacking LGBTQ folks? No, we won’t have it.”

Jamie Wallace from the Coalition for Black Trade Unions (CBTU) and Ed Childs from UNITE HERE Local 26 also see this struggle linked to broader social issues, particularly racism and war. 

Wallace described “racism as another system that keeps the people separated and divided,” adding that it keeps the powerful in their position because “we are divided as a people and we haven’t come together to battle against these systemic oppressions that we are currently facing.”

Adding on to Wallace’s comments, Childs expressed concern that Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated while helping organize sanitation workers into unions and bringing together the Civil Rights movement and union movement, has been forgotten “as a symbol of the unionism.”

Childs also spoke to how war is used as a tool to divide and attack workers. After recalling how the U.S. has historically used war to repress unions, he added “When the U.S. has wars in Africa, those African workers are us. If the U.S. attacks Russia, those Russian workers are us. They attack China, those Chinese workers are us. Until you understand that, you’re losing. So, get out in the street!”

Passionate about eschewing artificial divisions, Childs also criticized how only some workers were deemed essential workers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Don’t any worker think that they’re not essential and don’t any worker think that another worker’s not essential. We’re all essential. And if anybody’s out on strike, whether it’s a dishwasher or computer programmer, you get out there and support them.”

In addition to their commitment for shared struggles, many of these workers were also members of socialist organizations and shared a critique of capitalism. Most of the interviewees in this article were members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), or Workers World Party (WWP). Organizations like the Young Communist League (YCL) and the Independent Socialist Group (ISG) were also on the picket line but not quoted in this article.. 

Spencer Costigan, a member of SBWU and DSA, added to the message of solidarity with a critique of capitalism and what it does to workers. “No matter where you are, there are workers struggling… because that’s the nature of capitalism. That’s just the way that the system has been built, and the only real way forward is to dispose of that and create a new system.”

For many workers and leftists, this picket at Amazon was a landmark moment in the fight to create a new system. Everyone on the picket line recognized that this fight is everyone’s fight, and people’s support is needed for both this fight and every fight to come. With the conversations on the Amazon Teamsters picket line covering SBWU’s Strike with Pride, the shared critique of the larger capitalist system, and parallel trends of exploitation across industries, this picket was a concrete symbol of the developing awareness that the only way forward is to unite across our struggles. 

For support, Porter asked people to donate, repost on social media, and show up to the picket. You can donate here and follow/boost @teamsters396 on Instagram and @local_396 on Twitter.

Happy red hot summer!

UPS Teamsters have voted to go on strike August 1 if the bosses do not agree to a fair contract. Join us Sunday, July 9, 2:00-3:30 PM at the Gallatin Labor Temple (422 E Mendenhall) for a discussion about why workers go on strike and how to support UPS workers.

Suggested materials to review:

• The Chicago Teachers Strike Is a Fight for the Common Good (Article)
• Create Havoc Around our System (CHAOS) method (Video)
• Teamsters Deliver The Goods 2  (Podcast)

Other upcoming dates:

• Thursday July 13, 6:30 PM, Housing Working Group (1820 W Lincoln)
• Sunday July 16, 2:00 PM, Labor Working Group (422 E Mendenhall)
• Thursday July 20, 6:30 PM, Housing Working Group (1820 W Lincoln)
• Sunday July 23, 2:00 PM, Labor Working Group (422 E Mendenhall)
• Friday, July 28, Strike Ready Fundraiser at the Gallatin Labor Temple to raise money for a strike fund to support UPS workers if they need to strike
• Sunday, August 13, 2:00 PM, New DSA Member Orientation

Solidarity Forever

Hello phonebankers! This is our schedule for August – looking forward to calling with ya. All events are on Zoom.

• Mon., 8/7 @ 6pm – RSVP
• Mon., 8/14 @ 6pm – RSVP
• Mon., 8/21 @ 6pm – RSVP
• Mon., 8/28 @ 6pm – RSVP

Your best pals,
DSA-LA Growth & Development working group

Wear your DSA merch, bring a sign with a witty slogan, and show your pride with us in the 2023 San Diego Pride parade!

DSA San Diego is going to be contingent line-up 256 at check-in point Blue, right at the intersection of Centre St. and Lincoln Ave. between 8:00 am and 8:45 am. Parade starts at 10:00 am sharp!

Parking will be limited, so a good option is to take the shuttle service that starts at the Old Naval Hospital on Park Blvd. and President’s Way, but get there early before parking runs out.

Additionally, there should be event parking provided by Bernie Elementary and Theodore Roosevelt Middle School for $20.

Click here to let us know that […]

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“I recognize at the outset that there’s some irony to a non-coffee drinking Mormon, conservative, defending a Democrat candidate for president, and perhaps one of the most liberal companies in America.”

— Senator Mitt Romney to former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, as the latter testified before the Senate in March 2023

“No that’s the bottom line, it’s all a big smokescreen. This movement has become so capitalist. It is a capitalist movement. I see this movement becoming a straight-gay movement, that only believes in that almighty dollar. Now what kind of logic is this?”

— Sylvie Rivera, interviewed at Pride in 2001

This weekend Starbucks workers went on strike in Cleveland, part of a week of 150+ stores protesting the removal of Pride flags from shops nationwide. Partners struck at the newly unionized Strongsville location and in Crocker Park. With the Summer weather, turnout at both stores was excellent. For the first time in a while, stores failed to open altogether, with management apparently not mustering enough scabs to make the attempt. Overworked baristas and their allies celebrated their victory, playing music, chanting into our many megaphones, fanning ourselves with cardboard signs, chatting with supporters. A resident from the Crocker apartments brought several boxes of popsicles (and a dog!) to the picket line. Spirits were high as the baristas turned away a full-day’s business during a major holiday weekend.

Community support was strong. The Amalgamated Transit Union, Workers United staff, former Starbucks workers, supporters of the One Fair Wage ballot initiative, and, of course, DSA members, all came together for the Crocker picket. From all reports, the Strongsville Starbucks on Royalton Road held a great picket as well. There community support included a strong DSA contingent as well as Teamsters, Building and Construction Trade Council workers, the Postalworkers, Machinists, Steelworkers, and the working class superhero from Queens, Spiderman, who is a longtime supporter of the union movement.

When Crocker Park’s Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) crew joined the struggle last November, things were beginning to drag. Union representation had been won at several stores, but the fight had clearly shifted from exciting first waves toward a longer and more difficult battle for a national contract. It is not clear that all bargaining units would survive decertification¹ votes. The shape of Starbucks criminal unionbusting strategy was revealing itself. Partners braced for a long battle of attrition with management. In the service sector such battles are particularly vicious, as employers often have a great deal of power over scheduling. Partners found they simply weren’t getting shifts anymore, or were being scheduled for less hours than they’d need to retain benefits. Cleveland DSA, as a small part of its Labor Solidarity campaign, has tried to bridge the gap, holding concerts and Drag shows to bolster the Starbucks Organizers Support Fund (which you can donate to here!). Yet needs are always mounting, and as Cleveland SBWU grows so too do the number of workers needing to make rent every month. In this context, Crocker partners’ energy, cleverness, militancy, and sense of humor were badly needed. They rejuvenated our chapter’s Labor Solidarity Campaign at the start of a long winter, and have consistently ensured Cleveland SBWU stores were represented in national strike efforts. We’ve been honored to join them at the picket line over and over again, in much colder, rainier weather. Partners know we’ll be happy to picket all Summer long if Starbucks continues to bust the union. Compared to the organizers on the shop floor, our job is easy!

My fellow DSA members were surprised when Starbucks took down the Pride flag at the Clifton location. It’s not unusual to see flags go up at urban cafés during Pride month. Clifton Starbucks has had their flag up all year, for years. Resting as it does in Edgewater, a historic gay neighborhood in Cleveland, with one of Cleveland’s most popular gay bars just next door, there is nothing risky or unusual about this display of community. It is well within the local mainstream. Taking it down only served to anger workers and alienate locals. When I learned this was a deliberate, national decision, rather than a ridiculous error by an incompetent local manager, I was floored.

Socialists often see these sorts of pride displays as hollow corporate PR, yet another variant of “pinkwashing” to launder capitalist politics into the progressive movement. But in this case, and many others, I believe this was an earnest expression of community by the workers there, merely tolerated by corporate. Starbucks has confirmed as much, if only in retrospect, by forbidding workers from displaying their flags. The argument that this decision was solely a capitulation to political backlash against gay rights, while probably true of some companies, just doesn’t ring true for Starbucks. The vast majority of Starbucks customers are, at worst, perfectly willing to ignore a Pride flag. Where backlash does exist, “wokeness” controversies have long served as free advertising for companies, forcing their brands to the center of a national discourse. Strategically, attacking Pride only illustrates why gay and allied partners need a union, just one more thing you’d use a union for. Why would Starbucks attack their largely progressive workforce like this in the middle of a sensitive unionbusting campaign? If they are hoping to win workers over from the union camp, this is no way to go about it!

There was no need for confusion. Starbucks has been abusing partners across Cleveland however they can since at least the moment they began to stick up for their rights as workers. Their plan isn’t to win workers over with reasoned argument or high minded concessions, it is to crush their spirits and replace them with more compliant workers. Many of our friends face this abuse every time they clock in. Corporate has thoroughly replaced those managers willing to comply with labor law, those few who respected their workers enough to oppose criminal union busting, with the nastiest people in our cities. If this campaign of abuse destroys stores in the process, they don’t seem to care. Removing the flags is just one more way to attack their workforce, and Starbucks is taking every opportunity.

This is part of how Reaction will look as the fringe right desperately tries to reverse the culture shift in our country. We will see assaults from elites, even from “the most liberal companies in America”, on gay people. We’ll see it where the vast majority of gay people spend the majority of their time, and where they are most vulnerable to the whims of bigoted elites: at work. We’ll see it silently, every day, in non-unionized workplaces across the country, and then loudly, for years, when gay workers and allies straighten their backs and say no.

Corporations will continue to appropriate LGBT iconography for years to come, but new lines are emerging between this and more genuine bottom up expressions of Pride. A city as close as Columbus has, for years now, held a parallel “Community Pride” to break with the pro-police politics of the liberal funders (basing its finance instead in fundraising and in local black businesses). This country is nothing like it was in the 2000s, socialists should not underestimate the importance of the culture shift on gay rights. But the degree of organization and independence of the working class LGBT community has still not recovered from the AIDS crisis. Cleveland Pride’s funders have just put on a much needed celebration, but we must remember 2016, when, “because of the changing social climate,” Cleveland Pride was called off altogether. This was a decision “the movement” had no say in, and is what we earned by putting our festival in the hands of a private Board. “Progressive” corporations and their community partners cannot and have no intention of defending us when things get hard. There is a desperate need for queer people to learn how to organize, so we can rebuild a Pride that is based on our own power rather than on the good graces of capitalists, the whims of nonprofit boards, and the support of the state. It was not Target that brought about the culture shift on gay rights in our country, they merely reflected it back at us.

The relationship between LGBT representation and the greater whole of progressive politics has long been debated on the left. The truth will arise out of struggle and is not predetermined. SBWU offers up one answer, and the (largely queer-led) DSA another, compatible answer. The vast majority of queer people are workers. And as workers, there is no question of separating out one from another, of praising the trans manager who pays for treatments by pushing trans subordinates into medical debt. She has misunderstood her true interests, betrayed her community, and sided with people who cannot and will not protect her.

No matter how enthusiastically and sincerely corporations promote LGBT representation, it is only where this is a bottom up phenomenon that it may survive the 2020s. We have long been winning the battle in our culture, but the American public does not control the government, and there is no pretense of democracy in the American workplace. Any policies protecting the rights of gay Starbucks partners can be removed as easily as the Pride flags themselves, unless they are built on contracts that are themselves built on the power of the workers there to enforce them. Starbucks Workers United is an organization for all partners regardless of their sexuality, but whatever else it is, it does constitute a major uprising of queer workers in our country. Queer workers are fighting for their future, together with workers of all sorts, at companies across the continent. Win or lose we are learning how to fight back. Organizations like DSA help to carry this knowledge over to subsequent fights and give workers a political organization under their own control. Those many workers who do not join organizations like ours will still take their sense of solidarity and practical organizing skills to their next job, where regardless of their level of demoralization, the objective need for a union will eventually reassert itself. We should take heart: with capacity built from organizing campaigns in a store near you, we will not allow a bigoted minority of rich dicks to take our country back to the 1950s.

By Alek N, Cleveland DSA member
Special thanks to Koby P for reviewing my draft!

Want to support Starbucks workers? Please donate here, and join DSA’s email and phone bank list to help with future strike support!

Notes
1: A decertification vote may take place when 30% of the workers sign cards requesting an election be re-run in a given bargaining unit, and can take place a year after a union election.

The post Our Pride: a Starbucks Workers Strike and the LGBT Movement appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.

This weekend, three academic workers and UAW 2865 members at the University of California San Diego were arrested in retaliation for union activity. The University has continued to repress union members, notably bringing code of conduct violations against 67 workers last month, as it refuses to adhere to the contract these workers won in a strike last year.

Click here to sign the UAW petition to the University of California.

Click here to sign the petition to the San Diego District Attorney.

The San Diego chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America denounces in the strongest possible terms the actions by the UCSD administration that led to these arrests, and calls on the University to drop the charges and to