# Starbucks workers join the Wobblies!  Cuppa Joe Hill?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-join-the-wobblies-cuppa-joe-hill/375324>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 4, 2006, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-join-the-wobblies-cuppa-joe-hill/375324 "2006-10-04T23:52:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-join-the-wobblies-cuppa-joe-hill/375324/1 "2006-10-04T23:52:18Z")

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I don’t suppose [this story](http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2851/) has any wider political implications, but I wanted to share it just because it strikes a surreal and nostalgic note. I mean, I knew the [Industrial Workers of the World](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_workers_of_the_world) still exists – I’ve met [Leslie Fish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Fish) at SF convention filksings, and seen the IWW union/party card she carries – but it’s so long since I’ve heard of them actually doing anything.

I dreamed last night I saw Joe Hill  
As live as he could be  
“But Joe,” I said, “you’re ten years dead”  
“I never died,” said he . . .

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**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-workers-join-the-wobblies-cuppa-joe-hill/375324/2 "2006-10-05T00:11:15Z")

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Why are they trying to organize one of the world’s most worker-friendly companies? Starbucks workers get health insurance; and good insurance at that. They get tuition reimbursements. They get all kinds of perks unheard of for part-time workers. They are consistently high in the Top 100 companies for workers (and always in the top 10 large companies).

I read the article, but it didn’t state the problems very clearly. Starbucks most common hourly employees make 35k a year on average – and they are all part-time. What exactly are they complaining about?