"it’s the result of some construction-related chemicals and an exhaust fan that was not turned on. Lunch distribution will still be available."

yum!

The vast majority of King County is unionized (90%?). How will “socialized concrete” avoid the same pitfalls as the private sector?

These starbucks employees realize they'll have to pay union dues, right?

But if the concrete strike is settled, they'll just use it for the Monster Waterfront Trench (c) Matt Baume 2022.

@5,

Yes. What a stupid question.

@7 why is it a stupid question?

@8:

Because you don't think SBUX management would neglect to mention that in whatever anti-union messaging they no doubt forced the employees to sit through in a captured audience meeting?

@11 exactly. Hearing that union membership comes with required dues and then actually getting the bill and paying them are completely different. It's at that point that the employee starts to wonder, what exactly are the benefits I'm getting from these dues? I worked a job that was unionized, and the scheduling sucked and the work sucked. If I'm not mistaken, scheduling priority was based on seniority/tenure at the company. I'm all for unions, but I think there is more than a 50/50 probability that the grass won't be greener on the other side for these starbucks coffee slingers.

I thought the quote (attributed to Ben Franklin) was “in the dark, all cats are GRAY.”

@12 My union dues buy me the formidable collective bargaining power of the IBEW, PPE and power tools paid for by the contractors, mandatory safety protocols, paid parking, and honestly way more than I care to type out on my 30min lunch break. It all depends on how the Starbucks union will be organized and executed. A wise human would wait to pass judgment on the value of the Starbucks union dues until a little evidence is available. Don't you think?

Lets make the local Democratic organizations even more out of touch with the average voter. Great strategy!! Also lets unionize a used clothing store because it's become dangerous to even attempt to stop someone's right to free items. While where at it, lets build housing projects! Nobody has ever tried that before.

The Carmen Rivera video was fun, but prepare yourself for the national show being run by Prez DJT, Mitch McConnell, and Kevin McCarthy as the Democratic Party continues to lose Latinos (not Latinx you fucking idiots) and significant numbers of Black folks, not to mention blue collar Whites long ago abandoned. It is a pretty dystopian vision for this old lefty.

of course, that new theater would still be suitable for a certain Chekhov play

@14 it will be interesting to see what they come back with but I think they are making a strategic error in how they are organizing. I get it's easier to win an election one store at a time but the negotiating power of one store will be tough to leverage any concessions from Starbucks, especially here in Seattle. They are already have a high wage, secured scheduling, sick/vacation time due to city ordinances and Starbucks provides health benefits and free tuition for associates already so it doesn't leave a lot of open area to negotiate for something better. If they ultimately go on strike Starbucks can easily weather the closure of one store and if that one store gets absolutely crushed in the negotiation that may be enough to turn off other stores from organizing altogether. As other posters have said, it's easy to sign up now the hard work begins. Good luck to them and if they are serious about this they should keep "I want to steal the spotlight" Sawant as far away from them as possible. Just ask the carpenter's union about that.

also, while that statistic is indeed sobering (i.e. "...More people under the age of 65 died of alcohol-related causes in 2020 than died from COVID"), let us not forget that over 75% of U.S. COVID-19 deaths (source: Statista, as of Mar. 13) have occurred in those aged 65+

@14 That's awesome, sounds like a good cost/benefit result. Electricians are a valuable resource in our economy and a great career path. Being a barista, not so much.

25 - Thank you! I get the "gimmick" he's trying to do - but it's everything you say.

Matt clearly has a script running that automatically switches "breeders" to "heterosexuals." We can all still hear him screaming it through his tone, but that technically keeps him from printing hate speech, so good enough for Keck (or whomever owns this rag now)!

@30 I assure you my interest in SBUX unionizing is orders of magnitude less than that of the stranger. Nonetheless, it is fascinating to see the resurgence of interest in labor unions in young people and since SBUX is so ubiquitous in Seattle, it raises lots of interesting scenarios worth thinking and asking questions about. Is that okay with you? Should I have cleared this with you first?

You might have seen Ol’ Mitchy McConnell on one of the Sunday morning news shows say that the Republican senators were going to treat Judge Jackson with a lot more respect than the Democrats did with Clarence Thomas and Bret Cavanaugh. I almost choked on my English muffin. Yeah, I hope so, Mitchy, since Judge Jackson never tried to stick a couple of fingers up a unwilling colleagues hoo-ha.

I don’t think the confirmation is in doubt. This, after all, isn’t a net gain for the liberal wing of the Court. If it were the 5th seat? Man, the Republicans would be encouraging bonfires and digging up some shit her great uncle did in 1966.

It’s gotten to the point where I can't even watch House or Senate hearings anymore. Old white people mostly completely out of touch with humanity and those who are not able to afford $150 lunches.*

*Paid by lobbyists.

See Jaboukie Younge-White on daily show season 24 episode 129 - doing his commentary on the corporate sponsored Pittsburg pride parade ( June 2019)
Truly gay and hilarious!

"soon as
heterosexuals
manage to do some-
thing worth being proud of."

yeah
like That's
EVER gonna Happen.

@37-- "Workers who object
to paying union dues are... "

like those parts of the Electorate
happily voting Against their
very OWN Interests:

easy pickins
for Billionaires.