The current coffee academy is not working. Partners can no longer get the title or the apron for being a coffee master. Instead baristas can spend hours completing a free online course on coffee. The program is unpaid and there is no incentive to complete the program. Coffee master used to be one of the coolest parts of working at Starbucks. Partners and customers would look up to coffee masters if they had questions or wanted to learn more about coffee. Coffee masters were there to support and help partners learn more about coffee. Currently, customers are no longer getting their questions answered about how to brew coffee. They can no longer get a roast recommendation based off of their personal preferences. Many partners haven't even tried a majority of Starbucks roasts. Something needs to change.

Employees working in this company are being overlooked, discriminated, underpaid and overworked to the point where individuals get unhealthy. Employees no longer feel valued & get wrongfully terminated. Not a safe work environment.

It’s important to have the same standard for everyone that has been there and is coming to join. Manager should be held respectful and reasonable when it come to learn new thing and coming in as a new manager. And if we the people can’t voice our opinions where is our rights. How can you be a good leader with out being a good follower. We work harder than most don’t get nothing but a 35 min break one 20 min and one 15 min it’s not fair that jobs doing way less hour Nd less work get more hour to eat than we do. We sign up for day shift ,night shift ,or weekend day or night but we have to come in every weekend and we don’t get time an a half, holiday pay ,weekend ,or night shift pay. We feel our jobs is being threatened Because if we don’t come in on our day off that’s 2 points or more. We done went through every step we needed to help with the concerns we the associate have.

It is important because committing to sustainability is an important movement that Starbucks claims to be apart of and something they claim to do, when we don't even have recycling bins at the very least. We, as partners, create an absolute ridiculous amount of waste and even half effort could save so much waste from making it to the landfills.

When we completed our employee training, we were each deemed "certified sex nerds" but you might know us better as SESAs. The sex educator/sales associates of Good Vibrations Brookline and Cambridge have been proudly providing non-judgmental sex education to their communities for years. We have striven to create sex positive spaces which battle shame with empowerment and now we need your help to create a workplace that feels safe and empowering for us. The collective employees of these two Good Vibes locations known as Solidarity with East Coast Sex Educators or SECSE (yes, it IS pronounced 'sexy') have come together to demand consent and communication in how the company is run amidst this pandemic and beyond it. We want to amplify our voices on the ground and demand that our needs be addressed directly in the decision-making processes of this company. We love our jobs and many of us have proudly served our communities for 3+ years, learning as we teach others and working to continuously reassess accessibility and representation within our spaces. When we put our company name behind supporting LGBTQIA+, black, brown, disabled, sex worker, and otherwise marginalized voices, we at SECSE believe that the company should extend this support to their employees just as much as we provide it to our communities. Our west coast corporate office doesn't agree that our demands address problems which require immediate action. Good Vibrations cannot claim to serve these communities until they support EVERYONE in these communities including the very people who champion their cause during dangerous times. Stand up for quality sex education, stand up for LGBTQIA+ workers, stand up for consent and communication not just in our personal lives but our professional lives as well. Stand with SECSE!

Tatte FOH employees do more than just take orders and food run. They are heavily trained upon being hired, so that no pastry, dessert, or retail items are out of place. While this makes for great service and knowledgeable staff, this also means that they are expected to perform more duties than the average server, yet make less than one. These high standards must be reflected in the pay that FOH receives. $10/hour is simply not a living wage, and this must change immediately. We call upon Tatte to raise the wage for FOH workers to at least match the Massachusetts minimum wage, $12.75, and to also raise the wage for BOH/non-tipped workers by $2.75.

We are the hardworking men and women who feed students day-in and day-out at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. We have a union contract that ensures we are paid fairly, treated with respect and provided with benefits that help us take care of our families. We can't allow these protections to be threatened by the PA State System of Higher Education's (PASSHE) merger of the food service operations at IUP, Edinboro University, Slippery Rock University, and Clarion University. Starting next academic year (2021-22), one food service contractor will feed students at all four campuses under one agreement. Food service companies have submitted their bids and the winning company will be chosen soon. We call on Dr. Driscoll and Chancellor Greenstein to demand that the winning company honor our existing union contract as well as the contracts of our union brothers and sisters at Edinboro and Slippery Rock. The winning company should also grant workers at Clarion University a fair process for joining a union so that they too can negotiate for fair wages, benefits and working conditions. We are prepared to take action if this arrangement threatens our union contract. We are well aware of how unfairly many nonunion food service workers are treated and how poorly they are compensated. We will do whatever it takes to preserve the fair treatment, pay and respect we have fought for!

Acting in solidarity with the July 20th Strike for Black Lives, Googlers Against Racism call on Alphabet to take stronger action in dismantling racism and advancing equity across our company in solidarity with the communities that host our offices. Alphabet has an unprecedented opportunity to be a global leader in antiracist corporate action. Google’s recent commitments to racial equity are commendable and represent the first step, but Alphabet continues to build products, conduct employment practices, and impact communities in ways that increase racial disparities - actions that cause particular harm for Black+ workers and users. One of the demands of the Strike for Black Lives is that “Corporations take immediate action to dismantle racism, white supremacy, and economic exploitation wherever it exists, including in our workplaces.” We look forward to Google setting the standard for anti-racist corporate leadership. In addition to the demands in our other petition on ending police contracts, we believe there are meaningful ways that Google can respond to the pain many are expressing. The demands are common-sense actions that the company should take in the short term to show that it takes its responsibility in dismantling racism seriously. We are under no illusion that these demands are comprehensive or sufficient to dismantle our company’s role in continuing systemic racism. However, not to address these concerns represents a failure on the part of leadership to meet the moment. We have a long way to go to correct for centuries of harm, and we must seize every opportunity we can to build a society that is consistent with our values. Let’s start with a meeting to work together on this.

Team members at LeadVenture have noticed that we provide our website and digital marketing services to a predominantly white, male industry. The images and marketing material our OEMs provide us with strictly reflects this. We believe this spreads the message that the outdoors (in recreation and work) only holds space for white men. Since we provide our marketing services to companies that encourage people to get outside, we are at the forefront of being able to advocate for inclusion in the outdoors. To better serve our clients and their customers, we need to ensure that all feel welcome. We believe it is of the utmost importance for LeadVenture to publicly and actively support the Black Lives Matter movement. We would like to see more diversity among our coworkers to help provide new insight, fresh ideas, and to offer a better overall product for the customers. We would also like to coordinate with our OEMs to provide us with imagery and material that feature people who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, and marginalized genders and sexualities with their products. Manufacturers (whose products we market) like Harley-Davidson, Polaris, Honda, and John Deere have already pledged their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. There is nothing that should hold us back from encouraging them as well as other OEMs to help us reach and embolden a more diverse audience in the outdoor industry. We need your support to help fight racism and discrimination in the industries that we serve. We cannot allow an opportunity for betterment to pass us by. Join us and sign our petition to have LeadVenture take action towards making a more inclusive and diverse workplace and outdoor space for all. For a few actions we’d like to see in particular, please see below. We Ask That: - LeadVenture commit to making an active, ongoing effort to improve hiring practices to promote a diverse team. - LeadVenture and sub companies publicly announce their support of BLM on social media and internal emails - LeadVenture match employee donations to NAACP when feasible - LeadVenture use their already established connections to OEM’s to request more diverse stock images and marketing material - LeadVenture sponsor voting day off for employees to go vote, or a ballot drop box in vote-by-mail states Sources: Harley-Davidson: https://www.visordown.com/news/general/harley-davidson-stands-george-floyd Polaris: https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/polaris-dealer-losses-store-racist-black-lives-matter-posts-200623145146510.html Honda (and other automotive brands): https://thenewswheel.com/auto-industry-response-to-black-lives-matter-protests/ John Deere: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/john-deere_together-we-will-create-lasting-change-activity-6677215397114064897-eNPo

We are outraged over LA’s BEST’s decision to embolden bigotry and terminate Edwin Medina’s employment after 16 years of dedicated service. LA’s BEST fired an exceptional leader because he dressed in drag to our end-of-year Zoom costume meeting on June 12. Edwin’s termination completely contradicts OUR organizations’ values of “sparking curiosity, expanding horizons, and strengthening relationships”. This is especially unacceptable and inexcusable given the context: It is Pride month, and we are in the middle of a new wave of the Civil Rights movement. We have suffered loss, financial stress, and social isolation due to COVID19. LA’s BEST is in the middle of a budget crisis and making cuts where you can to the detriment of our organization’s values and mission. Pride, Drag, & Bad Bunny It was a “meaningful choice” for Edwin to show his PRIDE, especially when LA’s BEST has been startingly quiet on the social issues of the moment. Edwin dressed up in drag as Bad Bunny in “Yo Perreo Sola”. This music video was released March 27, and featured Bad Bunny in drag. Billboard describes the music video, and Bad Bunny’s drag, as “visually eye-opening (and) conscientious, talking about respect for women and highlighting the LGBTQ+ community, a departure for Latin urban music”. By removing one word from LA’s BEST’s BLM statement, the hypocrisy becomes clear: “Through our afterschool enrichment program, we strive to combat the disparities created by oppressive and systemic … inequities and work to prepare our students and staff to become changemakers in our communities. We are all deeply connected to each other, and we remain committed to strengthening those connections through compassionate, positive youth development.” That starts with how you treat your employees. “Drag” is borderline synonymous with “queer”, and we regret that our unnamed colleague and LA’s BEST decided to punish Edwin’s personal expression with termination. During this historical moment, the Supreme Court has ruled that an employer cannot fire someone for being homosexual or transgender. Gender identity and expression should now be protected in the workplace. Edwin Medina should not have been terminated. Leadership Edwin was a stellar leader at LA’s BEST. He did much of the “dirty work” during the COVID19 crisis, discussing budget cuts with us, giving reassurance, and helping us navigate the shift to distance learning. Moreover, relationships were Edwin’s specialty - with his staff and with our kids. He offered us guidance, and as his staff, we always knew we could go to Edwin. He supported us through short staffed days, taking on groups of his own. He advocated for our professional and personal development. Edwin Medina was one of the BEST advocates and leaders among us. Edwin was comfortable being himself, and he empowered us - adults and youth - “to explore and discover the opportunities in (our) lives”. He “inspired and prepared (us) to create lives full of choices”, and you fired him for his choice to wear drag to a costume party. Unfortunately, many of us do not feel safe at LA’s BEST anymore. We believe the actions of our unnamed colleague and of LA’s BEST are rooted in ignorance and bigotry. We do not feel comfortable working in an organization that emboldens ignorance. We especially share concern for the youth we work with, many of whom are or will be members of the LGBTQ+ community. Hate and discrimination do not belong in this organization.

The protests happening around the nation right now are trying to bring justice to the families affected by police violence and systemic racism. Starbucks can make a huge difference to the people in protest right now, including our own coworkers and family members. The requests in the letter may not seem to ask for a lot, but they would impact people in every city and would give Starbucks a legacy of supporting oppressed communities.

We have dedicated ourselves to growing and sustaining Crazy Mocha because we believe in the value it brings to Pittsburgh’s communities. Many of us have worked for years to serve our customers with a high standard of customer service and care. We are valuable members of the business and should be treated as such. Instead, we have been ignored and treated as if we were of no importance to Crazy Mocha whatsoever. We haven't heard anything from the Company since March 26. Any information we've gathered has been from public news reports and social media. Our personal appeals for information are disregarded. Our comments are deleted from social media posts. We've already reached out to the Corporate team who is still working and received total radio silence. Even before this pandemic, when we've reached out to HR in the past, we've been told our concerns are invalid and to stop contacting them about our issues. Many of us have been manipulated by the company: we've been falsely promised benefits for which we weren't actually eligible, we've been told we'd make a higher wage for a shift and never paid that rate, we've been lied to about the nature of regular raises. We've had safety and security issues in stores and been told to just call 911. We have felt extremely disrespected and dehumanized, as if we're completely replaceable. We are a big reason that regular customers keep coming back and, first and foremost, would like this fact to be acknowledged. We look forward to being able to return to our jobs. We care enough that we would like to see changes so that we can continue to provide an excellent product and exceptional service like we always have. We just ask that our concerns are taken seriously and with heart.