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]