International

Starbucks staff plan to strike in over 100 US stores

Photo: Timothy A. Clary / AFP

| By AFP |

Starbucks workers in more than 100 US stores plan to go on strike Thursday, according to a union, protesting the coffee giant’s approach in negotiating union contracts as the company rolls out festive promotions.

Dubbed the “Red Cup Rebellion,” the one-day strike coincides with a popular event in which Starbucks hands out reusable cups with certain festive purchases.

Instead of the branded cups, workers plan to give out red union cups instead, said Starbucks Workers United, which represents nearly 7 000 employees across the United States.

The action takes place in “response to Starbucks’ union-busting tactics and refusal to bargain,” said the group in a statement.

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It added that workers wanted the right to organize a union free of intimidation and fear.

“Unless Starbucks comes to the table and bargains in good faith for a fair contract, we can count on this to happen again,” the union said.

Workers at two Starbucks cafes in Buffalo, New York, voted to set up a union in late 2021, marking the first at the coffee chain’s company-owned shops in the US.

Now, the Starbucks Workers United represents more than 260 locations.

But the company’s management has been slow to start negotiations on collective agreements, and is accused of intimidation.

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The National Labor Relations Board has issued dozens of complaints against Starbucks, and the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Following efforts at Starbucks, there has been a spread of union drives to a growing slate of corporations including Apple, REI, Chipotle and Trader Joe’s.

These were companies that union organizers have not in the past viewed as fertile to their efforts.

International

Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka

Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.

The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.

An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.

The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.

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Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.

Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.

Internacionales

Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages

May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.

In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.

Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.

International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.