![]() ![]() “As the poisoning of our environment continues, we’re all paying the price, so any solution requires thoughtful, intentional principle, equitable, socialist planning,” Foote said. “As we think about housing and substandard housing in our community, we must demand that new housing developments are not built an industrial wasteland where communities are at risk for breathing in pollutants, where there’s more traffic and pavement than there is greenery.”Įllie Pfeffer, an organizer with the Ithaca Tenants Union, and David Foote, an officer of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) Ithaca, discussed the place of socialism in eradicating climate change. “Cruel labor has produced harsh realities for the earth and the inhabitants of this planet,” she said in her speech. LaFave also said that in order to stem the climate crisis, activists must acknowledge that people of color suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate change - an area that she intends to tackle as District 1 Legislator if elected. Nicole LaFave - assistant director of diversity alumni programs at Cornell University and candidate for the Tompkins County District 1 Legislator position - said in her speech that prioritizing the mental and physical health of workers is key to mitigating the climate crisis. I think rather than addressing our needs, they closed the store with little to no notice," Earl said.Other speeches also spoke to the overlapping issues of climate justice and racial inequality. I think that people were having issues with us voicing our concerns and actually speaking up. "College Avenue was a pretty vocal store in terms of unionizing. The workers now believe that this, along with their historic unionization, angered Starbucks leaders and provoked them to close the store. On April 19, they had held a strike due to a broken, overflowing grease trap in the store. Out of the three stores, the workers at the College Avenue location were the most vocal when it came to demanding what they labeled as fair treatment and a quality work environment. ![]() Two months ago, the College Avenue store had achieved a historic victory after it became unionized on the same day as the other two stores in Ithaca, making national headlines as the first city to have all unionized Starbucks stores. Workers speculate that the store's closing is in retaliation for their unionization. ![]() But it's the most profitable store in Ithaca because of how close it is to Cornell's campus and because of how many students visit that store each day," Earl said. "A lot of us were confused why it was closing so suddenly because said things about us not being efficient, or closing for business needs. They didn't ask whether our store was efficient for us, it was kind of based on Starbucks standards, but then they weren't really going over what the standards entailed," she added.Įarl said that to her, the coffee shop has been integral to Cornell's campus, with customers coming in and out all the time for coffee and to study, which sparked even more confusion among workers regarding its closing. our efficiency wasn't up to par, and they wanted to improve the customer and barista experience. Starbucks did not respond to NPR's request for comment.ĭuring the Wednesday meeting, Earl said that the reasoning provided by the lawyers didn't resonate with her or the workers. Questions remain as to why the College Avenue store had to close, as Starbucks refused to provide company data on the decision. "One thing that we're worried about is if we transfer to a different store that already has a fully staffed team, are we still gonna get the same amount of hours that we've been getting at our old store?" Earl said. Along with not being guaranteed transfers, the lawyers told the workers that they could not guarantee the same hours. She said the conversation went in circles, with lawyers reiterating that they would not reopen the store anytime soon. Though unable to attend the protest, Earl sat in on the second bargaining meeting between unionized workers and lawyers on Wednesday. Most Cornell students don't have cars, she said, so even if they are transferred to another store, workers who are also students would face the challenge of getting to and from work. Cornell student Alayna Earl, who is a member of the union, has been working as a barista for two years at the store, which is the closest Starbucks to campus. ![]()
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