Union backers target Starbucks with new-media campaign

Starbucks a hub of union-busting and worker exploitation?

Say it ain't so, Howard Schultz!

The Starbucks chief executive, who actively cultivates a socially progressive image, is in the cross hairs of a new-media campaign designed to bolster union representation at the retail giant and beyond. For five years, Starbucks has been the target of a limited but sometimes nasty unionization drive that has tarnished its reputation for high-minded benevolence.

But last week, Brave New Films in Culver City launched an ambitious "Stop Starbucks" offensive, including a website (stopstarbucks.com) featuring a four-minute video that was also posted on YouTube assailing Starbucks' treatment of workers, along with a petition demanding that Schultz "quit following Wal-Mart's anti-union example." By week's end, almost 12,000 had signed the petition, while nearly 40,000 had viewed the video, organizers said.

The anti-Starbucks onslaught also featured an attempted Twitter "hijacking" designed to undermine a Starbucks promotion in which contestants vied for prizes by submitting photos of themselves at Starbucks cafes. The virtual saboteurs forwarded the required "Twitpics" but hoisted signs blaring seditious mottos such as "I want a union with my latte" or Schultz "makes millions, workers make beans."

The new-media assault, Starbucks officials say, presents a distorted portrait of management's collaborative relationship with its "partners," a reference to the company's 135,000 U.S. workers. "Calling Starbucks a bad employer simply doesn't ring true with the overwhelming majority of our partners," said Jim Koster, Starbucks senior vice president for partner resources.

The anti-Starbucks blitz is indicative of how some unions and pro-labor activists have begun to embrace new media. The Communications Workers of America, representing some 80,000 AT&T employees seeking a new contract, has also posted videos of its rallies on YouTube. It also sends text messages to keep its members informed. "It's a good way to spread the word and get people to participate and feel they're part of something bigger as well," said Peter O'Brien, organizer and executive board member of CWA Local 9510, based in Orange. "It goes viral pretty quickly."

Most major unions boast extensive websites where workplace issues, political objectives and other concerns are thoroughly aired.