On Saturday 19th May, Sheffield Food Not Bombs and Wobblies staged a picket outside the Broomhill branch of Starbucks in solidarity with the IWW’s “Justice from Bean to Cup” campaign:

- "Justice from Bean to Cup!" -

A Human Rights Campaign in Solidarity with Starbucks Baristas and Coffee Farmers.

Despite its attempt to create a socially responsible image, Starbucks’ failure to meaningfully embrace Fair Trade coffee and transparent purchasing has left coffee farmers and their children teetering on the brink of starvation in the Global South.

In Starbucks cafes, baristas are paid a poverty wage and the company insures a lower percentage of employees than Wal-Mart. Starbucks baristas are organizing a union with the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) for a better life on the job in the face of a fierce and unlawful union busting effort by the world's largest coffee chain.

Sheffield Food Not Bombs/IWW continued it’s highly successful "flying picket tour" of Starbucks branches in and around Sheffield ( https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/sheffield/2007/05/370093.html).


The picket ran successfully with punters greeted with free tea, coffee, orange juice and even a selection of delicious sarnies as an alternative to the overpriced beverages of Starbucks. The picket also gave us the opportunity to chat in greater detail with members of the public about the campaign, about Food Not Bombs and even, in one case, to give a detailed history of the IWW (for the truly dedicated)! People were overall highly receptive to our efforts and sentiments of support and solidarity proved frequent. The only dampener on the day (despite a few bouts of rain) was the disgraceful attitude of Starbucks management, choosing to immediately ring the police before even attempting to communicate with those on the line. Thankfully, having given out all our freebies and talked ourselves hoarse, we had already decided to call it a day and besides a heated debate over Starbucks union-busting record and exploitation in the Global South, nothing further came of our altercation with management.