I'm posting this for Erich Hahn, U.S./GLEP
Wake Up, Starbucks!
As part of its national campaign to persuade Starbucks Coffee
Company to adopt a code of conduct, the U.S./Guatemala Labor
Education Project (U.S./GLEP) is trying to locate college and
university campuses where Starbucks coffee is sold in dining
halls and cafeterias. If you know of any such campuses, please
notify U.S./GLEP at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Leaders of Washington state religious, environmental and labor
organizations requested a meeting with Starbucks in June, 1994
to discuss the possibility of a proposed code of conduct for
Guatemalan plantations. Starbucks replied that they would not
adopt a code of conduct.
U.S./GLEP has therefore initiated a campaign to persuade
Starbucks to adopt a code of conduct requiring that plantation
owners from which it buys pay a living wage, abide by
minimum health and safety standards, and respect the basic
rights of workers.
The national grassroots kickoff took place on Saturday, Dec. 3,
with leafletting at 23 Starbucks stores across the country. In
response, Starbucks called U.S./GLEP requesting a meeting. At
the conclusion of the meeting, senior executives from Starbucks
said they would talk more about the idea of a code of conduct
and provide a formal reply in January. It is unclear whether
Starbucks will decide to seriously pursue the idea of a code of
conduct or continue opposing the idea.
While we are pleased that our work has met with such a prompt
response from Starbucks, we don't yet have any concrete
commitments from them. Until we do, the grassroots campaign
will continue.
Nationally, we are coordinating another action day just before
Starbucks' annual meeting in February. We are organizing
actions for Saturday, February 11, and hope to have a strong
presence at Starbucks stores around the country.
Starbucks is one of the largest U.S. importers of Guatemalan
coffee. Starbucks recently bought The Coffee Connection and is
now the fastest growing U.S. gourmet coffee company,
operating over 400 coffee cafes around the country. Besides
their basic cafes, Starbucks continues to open up stores at
airports and at Barnes and Noble bookstores as well as moving
onto college campuses.
Guatemalan agricultural workers' organizations report that
between 60% and 80% of coffee plantations do not pay the legal
minimum wage of Q14.50 per day, about $2.50 a day. For a
family of five in rural Guatemala to meet their minimum
requirements, the Guatemalan National Institute of Statistics
estimates that they would need about Q42 per day.
The principle that U.S. companies can and should take
responsibility for working conditions at worksites that produce
the goods these companies sell to U.S. consumers has been
recognized by some U.S. retailers who have issued "sourcing
codes." No such code has been adopted by U.S. importers of
agricultural commodities from developing countries. The letter
from the Washington leaders proposes that Starbucks take the
lead in adopting such a code for coffee workers, using
Guatemala as a pilot project which would eventually be
expanded to other countries and companies.
Please contact Starbucks and urge Chief Executive Officer
Howard Schultz to adopt a path-breaking code of conduct to
establish standards setting minimal working conditions and pay
at plantations from which it buys, with Guatemala serving as a
pilot project. Starbucks Coffee Company, PO Box 34110,
Seattle, WA 98124-1110; 206-447-1575, 1-800-447-1575.
For more information contact the U.S./Guatemala Labor
Education Project, c/o ACTWU, 333 S. Ashland, Chicago, IL,
60607, 312-262-6502, fax 312-262-6602, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
