Starbucks Baristas Take a Stand, the Stand

Starbucks baristas have been trying to unionize for a while now, with organizers tossing out stats like "only 42% of Starbucks workers use its health-care plan." Last week's National Labor Relations Board hearing regarding Starbucks' alleged intimidation of pro-union employees featured some real gems:

By the review dated Aug. 5, 2006, the day he was fired, his manager wrote that he "failed to create a positive work experience for his fellow partners." The day he was fired, [Daniel] Gross [a former barista involved in the NLRB case] told managers "the workers united will never be defeated," he said in a near-monotone on the witness stand.

But nothing is better than this sassy quote from one Starbucks lawyer:

"Starbucks is a multibillion-dollar corporation. So I guess that must mean we're bad," said Starbucks attorney Daniel Nash in his opening statement July 9. "I know that the IWW, apparently in their zeal against capitalism or corporations, they don't like that. They don't like any big companies."

Via Romenesko's Starbucks Gossip site.