Updates From the Field- Round 2

Thousands of concerned consumers have been leafleting at Starbucks locations around the world. Thanks to these folks and OCA's hard-working volunteers in the field, Starbucks is receiving strong public pressure to reconsider its policies regarding rBGH, genetically engineered foods and Fair Trade coffee. Here are a few updates from OCA volunteers, discussing some of the leafleting events that have been took place during OCA's Global Days of Action against Satrbucks June 25 &26, 2001.

For streaming video of one of our rallies click here.
For images from the field click here.

Alaska

Anchorage

We were told we could not do this but we continued, until airport police came to escort us out, saying that we had no permit, we gave out the fliers and talked to lots of folks before they came over to get us out! Some people did not want to know about it, while others got out of line to not buy the coffee! We my son and I gave out all the pamphlets, we put them on all cars in the airport parking, as well as speaking to people as they came out to their cars! I guess they had just opened this starbucks in the ted stevens airport, we also went to the fred meyer store to inform the people that stock starbucks, to inform them of the problem!

Arizona

Tucson

I handed out leaflets in the University area Starbucks on the first day of this past campaign.  It was rather hot and I inevitably was standing by the wrong door of the Starbucks here to catch more people but did manage to pass out about 25 leaflets and will continue to do so when I have the time to go to another Starbucks sometime in the future.

California

Thought I'd relate our experiences of the 25th & 26th.  In preparation, we brought empty milk cartons from Trader Joes, Stornetta Clover brand from a Molly Stone Store and Berkeley Farms brand from Lunardi's, all Belmont food stores and all clearly labeled "rBGH-free", just to prove that this IS READILY AVAILABLE.

Our prime target was at Ralston & El Camino Real in Belmont. Talked with the store manager, "Cathy" who showed us a prominent display of "Fair Trade" coffee ($11.45 per lb.)  She volunteered that they've "never brewed it" but that they will, "start serving organic milk products next week". (equating non-rBGH with "organic" seems a common misconception). We handed out about 60 flyers to entering and departing patrons.  3 people read the flyers and turned away, destined for a nearby Peet's. Several people were interested and knowledgeable.

A more promising Belmont Starbucks is in the Carlmont Shopping Center at Ralston & Alameda.  A single entrance store, with more immediate traffic. They also prominently displayed the "Fair Trade" brand together with their puff-piece flyers, "Starbucks and Conservation International".  Manager "Ramon" said that they brew it once a week and (as if to prove it) came outside with a carafe labeled "Fair Trade" and pouring complimentary small cups for seated patrons (and us).  We handed out probably 75 flyers during both days but on the 2nd day, a security guard came by and ordered us off the (private) property of the Center. Again, some people did not enter after reading our flyers (though, that was not our intention).

Capitola

Hi, I handed out the Starbucks literature (Warning...) on June 26 from 2-3pm at the store in Capitola, CA. I gave out about 50 flyers and talked with about 15-20. When I arrived I went in and got an iced tea and asked if the manager was in.  She wasn't just I just told the waitperson that I would be giving out the flyers out front (and gave her one).  She said she would give it to the manager. Most people were interested in what it was about, and several stopped and talked about the issues.

We handed out leaflets in Hollywood at the Sunset-Gower location for around an hour. It wasn't as busy as we'd hoped but we were able to enlighten a few people. I'd say about 20% of the people even cared what they put in their bodies, and there were a few people who wanted to know about Starbuck's policies. We had a few hostile folks as well.

Unfortunately, LA is not a hotbed of consciousness. I'd like to keep handing out the leaflets to people—I actually gave them to people at work who drink too much Starbuck's. Should we return the unused flyers or keep handing out? Thanks for the opportunity

Los Angeles

Just wanted to let you know that on Monday last week I leafleted 4 starbucks in the Los Angeles area (various locations around the city).  I was able to talk to & hand flyers to about 2/3 to 3/4 of customers at the store, and leave flyers in several locations.  In addition, I know of one other location that was leafleted. Please to continue let me know any upcoming strategic days of action.

Pacifica

I wanted to let you know about leafleting yesterday. We got to Starbucks around 2, and I was really surprised at the number of people who go to starbucks in the middle of the day!  My partner came with me, but left to put laundry in at the Laundromat.  I handed out flyers for a while, and people were reading them as they continued walking into starbucks.  One woman laughed really meanly as she came out with her frappachino, but then another woman walked out after reading the leaflet and talked to me about it.  She ended up going to the independent donut/ coffee shop down the way.  We didn't know if they used rBGH milk, but we decided the independent factor was a plus for them.
After a little while the manager came out and told me I had to leave.  I pointed out that I was not on their property (at that point I was in front of the empty retail space next door) and she humphed and went back inside.  After about a half hour she came back out with the manager of the shopping center's number, said I was on private property and that I could call the manager, and I had to leave or she would call the police.  I really didn't feel like getting into it on that level, so I went over to the laundromat.  So then my partner went back and started handing out flyers.  Well, the manager didn't come out, just saw people coming in with the flyers again, so she called the police.  (I wasn't around when this happened, I just got the story!)Well, when the police came they were a little embarrassed for having to tell him to leave.  They were like, "You're not causing a disturbance, you're just handing out information, it should be your constitutional right to do so, but you're on private property, so..."  One of the cops was reading the flyer through this interaction, and said "Well, I'm not going to go to Starbucks anymore!"  Hearty (my partner) said he has two other people walk out without buying anything.  One guy told Hearty he respected what he was doing. It was fun and I learned a lot, and I wish I could have been there longer!  I'm taking off for a week now.  Thank you for inspiring me to take some action.

On June 26th we held a protest outside SBUX in San Diego and it went very well.  The cafe had mysteriously closed several hours earlier and there were about 20 police waiting when we arrived (I informed the officer in charge that if we were going to do something bad to SBUX we wouldn't send out a press releases first).  Three TV stations, 2 radio and several print media were there as well as about 50 protesters. 

That evening there was another protest in Ocean Beach where a local grassroots group is protesting Starbucks moving into their community, they have successfully fought several other big corporations from moving in. There were over 200 people at this one and we marched through the streets with drums, signs, banners and of course a large police escort. I addressed the crowd several times and got to talk about OCA's campaign.  It was great to support the efforts of a local group and have them support us also. 

San Francisco

I just wanted to tell you a little bit about how our campaign went on the corner of fulton and masonic. That starbucks doesn't get much foot traffic, but we leafletted everyone who came by and held up large signs.... People driving by would honk and give us the thumbs-up, people on buses saw the signs, etc. What was perhaps the greatest victory that day is that we leafletted all of the construction workers who were on their way to Starbucks from their big gross construction project across the street, and we handed them the leaflets. They were on their way in for some coffee, but they stopped and asked us questions about fair-trade coffee, rBGH, etc. and decided to go to the small family-owned coffee shop up the street instead of starbucks. Once at that coffee shop, they asked the woman behind the counter if she was selling fair trade coffee, and she said that she didn't know....:< anyway, they handed her one of the leaflets and told her what we had told them about fair-trade coffee. They told us that they were no longer going to go to Starbucks for their daily coffee... and it was good that we got to educate all of those people. they thanked us for the news.

The Sacramento event went really well and was covered by the Sac Bee and 4 tv stations. I am trying to get the clips of the story and will let you know when I do. The San Rafael event was small but got a VERY good response. People were really interested and took a lot of literature.

Santa Rosa

I called half a dozen radio stations and newspapers as soon as I arrived at Starbucks on Tuesday.  I had hoped they would be able to send someone out to cover the story but no such luck (I think in the future I will notify them in advance but my schedule didn't allow for it this time).  I handed out about a hundred leaflets to Starbucks customers.  Usually I would suggest that they ask for Fair Trade coffee when they went in and let them know that they "can make a difference in the quality and safety of the food that is available on the planet" by doing so.  Mostly they were on a mission for a cup of coffee and came and went quickly.  Some didn't want to have anything to do with me and steered clear (I didn't pursue them).  Several folks interacted with me at length and we had wonderful discussions.  One woman told me that they were "getting really upset" by people asking for Fair Trade coffee and said that they were telling the customers "I just work here".  A woman who came and went several times (the manager?) asked me how long I intended to be there.  I told her "at least until 11:00 am" and then she expressed her concern that things not get violent.  I found this rather interesting since I was dancing and singing in between handing out the leaflets and talking with folks and telling jokes in the parking lot.  Obviously, they were feeling very threatened and intimidated simply by my presence.  I forgot to tell you that the first thing I did when I arrived was to go inside and ask for Fair Trade coffee.  The counter person, acting exactly like every other Starbucks counter person I have interacted with, opened the fridge/cubbard and read to me what the brewed coffee of the day was (not Fair Trade).  With that response, I told them that I would be leafletting their customers until they brew Fair Trade coffee daily.  On my way out of the store, I stopped at the cream and sugar station because a brochure caught my eye.  It was a brochure on Fair Trade coffee.  I read it outside and felt angry that they are attempting to make themselves look good to their customers without changing anything.  When I mentioned this brochure to the woman I referred to above, informing her that only one tenth of one percent of the coffee they sell is Fair Trade and she said "that's known as greenwashing".  I definitely feel I want to finish handing out the leaflets I have (another 100) but I want to make sure to go to another store location.   I think having leafleters out front is something each of the store locations would benefit in experiencing.  Oh, one more thing that made an impact on me.  The same woman told me that she found it helpful to know that I am a Starbucks shareholder as well as a leafletter.  My women's investment group is currently writing a letter to Starbucks endorsing our campaign and encouraging Starbucks to take the initiative to turn the tide towards choice in labeling of genetically engineered foods etc.  I will forward a copy of the letter once it is finalized which I expect will be within the next few weeks.

Sherman Oaks

I'm reporting back that I leafleted the Starbucks at 15030 Ventura
Blvd. in Sherman Oaks on June 26 from 11-1.  I'm also sending the form back
to Organic Consumers with this same information.  Shortly after I arrived and started work, a young man working inside came out and told me that no soliciting was allowed.  I told him I wasn't soliciting - that this was an informational
activity and constitutionally protected.  I handed him a flyer, and his eyes widened.  "We'll definitely be reading this!" he said.  He went back inside , and from that point I had no further dialogue with Starbucks employees.   The customer response was varied, but no one was hostile.  Some refused the leaflet without a look, others took it mechanically.  Still others thanked me and expressed interest.  Two ladies took leaflets and then questioned the employees inside.  They reported back to me that Starbucks had brought in some organic products and put them on the shelves.  "So they're definitely aware of the issue," they concluded.  I thanked them for their activism and said that what was important was that they, the customers, were aware of the issue and had communicated their concern.  I pointed out the opportunity, mentioned on the leaflet, to email Mr.Smith at Starbucks.  Two other customers indicated interest in the email option. Let me know about any consequences of this action.  Thanks for the opportunity to work with you.

Florida

We were at Starbucks in North Boca Raton, FL for about 2 hours on the 26th. The manager of the store was rude and abrasive when I went in to speak pleasantly with her, but several employees were intrigued and probed with questions. One said he drank organic milk and ate non-GMO at home but never thought about those issues re Starbucks as he assumed those who subsisted on caffeine weren't interested in health. Another was more interested in the workforce issues. In addition we had several intense mind-changing conversations with customers -though we had to stay a non-threatening distance from the store. Most customers received the flyers politely, and most read over them. We saw no one litter with them. The customers who wanted more information were not interested in signing a petition, but came back outside to engage us in conversation, listened and chatted intensely and left saying that they would make some changes in their patronage. Incidentally, young friends of ours own an independent coffee shop on Sunrise in Fort Lauderdale and said that Starbucks employees had been vocal with them about the working conditions and had told them that people had asked questions about Fair Trade Coffee and milk. And, we learned this week that our nephew, who used to work for Starbucks in management, had quit over multiple issues.

Orlando

Just wanted to let you know we handed out leaflets at the Starbucks at Waterford Lakes in Orlando 6/25/01. We spoke to the manager and he said he understood our complaints but said he had no discretion in his buying of supplies. All supplies are ordered by the corporate office. He was sympathetic and cooperative. We only handed out about 125 leaflets (there didn't seem to be a very big following at this new location). Some individuals said perhaps we should be targeting dairy suppliers also. Also, someone from the "Orlando Weekly" (an "alternative" paper) called the afternoon of 6/25/01 and did a telephone interview. We provided them with the issues regarding Starbucks and organic consumer issues in the Orlando area. We'll let you know if an article turns up in the paper. There was no coverage in the local paper, the Orlando Sentinel, of the event (surprise!). We'll let you know if anything appears in the "Orlando Weekly."

the starbucks in palm beach gardens, fl is a rather low key place. Everyone that came by was very open to the info and especially interested in the issue of bgh in milk. it was really a lift for me to know that people care about sustainability. maybe it actually is a matter of education and giving people a way to voice their objections. i'll continue with the leaflets and would also like to know if you have any printed material specifically about bgh in milk. i might just move in front of PUBLIX and start spreading the word there. it is most difficult to even get bgh free milk down here. keep up the good work. it does make a difference.

Georgia

DECATUR

We arrived at 113 East Court Square in downtown Decatur, Georgia. We got there at 1:50 pm, and passed out 40 flyers to very interested people. The response from fellow citizens were great, some however were still stuck in anti-environmentalist ways. For a very short noticed spur of the moment discovery on the internet, three people walked around informing people of their food health.  We'll be happy to do it again.

Idaho

Boise

Although not an officially sanctioned event of the Boise River Festival,
15-20 Idaho Greens converged on the downtown Starbucks on Saturday, June
23rd, at 8:00 am. We had hoped with the balloon parade that morning that
we'd get the ultimate visibility, and it was good, just perhaps not
quite what my high expectations had hoped. We still had lots of fun!!!
We did some great sidewalk art (including making a big arrow that went
to the front door with lettering that said "Get your pus filled latte
here!), handed out flyers, talked with people about the issues, had lots
of colorful, witty signs and, the piece de resistance, a cow (with a
very colorful personality himself) being chased all around the
intersection by the mad scientist, Dr. Frankenbucks. They stole the
show! NBC and ABC both covered the event. I was not home to see the news so I'm not sure if we made the cut against all of the River Festival
activities (ugh - who cares about the kids playing in the fountain???
i'm making REAL news here!). We encountered the same thing as last time
- some people are receptive to our information, even though they still
continue to go inside the Starbucks. Some people are diehard Starbucks
junkies and are angry that we are there. And, a few, took our suggestion
of another coffee shop a block away that we knew was brewing organic
coffee (since they'd graciously offered anyone coming to our protest a
free cup of it that morning!) and went there for their java fix. In
summary, we gave out all our flyers, got the word out, no one got
arrested and we had fun all the while - sounds like a successful protest
to me!

Illinois

Chicago

The fliers went well. I spent about an hour out there by myself and another 90 minutes out there with two friends. Though our numbers were small, we talked to a lot of people. I felt like my message has begun to develop and we must have send 50 customers into the store saying "Can I have fair trade coffee?". In fact, I had so much fun I plan to flier our favorite coffee shop over the next couple of days at random. I'm amazed at what a little info and some paper will do to bring people around.  Please keep me up to date on the rest of the cities when you get the chance.

Chicago 2

Hello! Just wanted to give you an up date...I had to send a friend to leaflet the first site for me because my meeting went over. I spoke to him after & he said that he passed out about 40/50 leaflets. The second site(25th) I attended personally & realized that it would have been better to get people during a rush like right after work. I got out about 30 & then took the rest (100) to close by stores where people go to get flyers for upcomming events. The second day (26th) I went to the Roscoe/Lincoln location & I saw very few people...I only passed out like 20 tops. So I've been keeping some with me when I go on flyer drop offs for my clients(I'm always involved in music events-club nights, concerts, etc) So, that's good news in your info letter. Lets keep on. Ciao, hillary Glow Productions & Mgt.

Indiana

Schererville, IND

Maine

I distributed leaflets on the corner in front of the Portland Middle Street Starbucks from 11:30 to 1:30 I took a leaflet in to the manager at the beginning of my stay and told her what I would be doing.  She asked then if the corporation knew and I said yes.  She voiced no objections then.  Later, after a customer "harassed" her based on the leaflet, she came out to point out that the leaflets should not direct people to address her, since she was powerless in making product-related decisions, and that she was glad that we "at least" included the corporate CEO's address.  I told her that I understood why she felt powerless, but that I was sure her input to the corporation that her customers had these environmental and social concerns would be heard. She snorted, and went back inside to work. Many by passers and customers received the leaflets graciously with an exchange of thanks.  Some said or gestured no thank you, so received only a smile.  Some averted their eyes as if I weren't there.  This last response was difficult for me.  I am not an experienced, hardened activist. A few people thanked me more specifically for my efforts and concerns. One girl showed me a patch on her backpack that said "Starbucks Sucks!"  She took several fliers to distribute to friends.  One person said, "Good! I hate Starbucks.  They have driven all the real, local old-time coffeehouses out of the Old Port."  One man questioned me intensively and said he was sure the songbirds would find other homes, the small South American farmers other work, and our physiology other ways to adjust to the modified substances.  I told him, "I don't think you and I are going to reach an agreement on this.  I think your outlook is as wishful as you think mine is romantic.  Time will very soon tell us who is right." I know the restaurant owner in the Starbucks neighborhood where I went to lunch after I was done leafleting.  We talked about the leaflet, our mutual concern both for the environment and for the small, local entrepreneur in the face of big corporate competition.  He volunteered to place the remaining fliers on the bench in the foyer of his restaurant for his customers to take at will.  So I left them there. I learned a lot in that two hours and was grateful for the opportunity to be of service on an issue as important as bioengineered food.

Massachusetts

Myself and a friend leafleted two Starbucks in Cambridge, MA: Harvard Sq and Central Sq; 25 and 26JUN respectively. We handed out all but about 20 of leaflets I received. We concentrated on people entering Starbucks and asked them to request non GE ingredients in their next Starbucks purchase. Over 50% of the people did not realise that Starbucks sold milk that contained rBGH. The message was well received.

Michigan

Ann Arbor 1

Just wanted to let you know that we did our leafleting today. It was fun altho there was only 2 of us - me and Marty - and no press. it was good anyway in that we talked to a lot of people, convinced at least 2 people to take their business to the local organic cafe instead, educated a group of highschoolers about what fair trade means and why it's important, talked to a minister who is selling equal exchange coffee to his other local area churches who said he will put out info on our Starbucks campaign and in general got most of them to agree to make a phone call to Starbucks to voice their support of our
campaign.  It was fun even if we were 2! There were people at Arborland Starbucks and in Detroit too.  Hope the other actions across the country went well.

Thanks for organizing us Midwesterners.
 

Ann Arbor 2

I'll send in the media & response sheet, but the leaflet at Arborland (3601
Washtenaw) in Ann Arbor, MI went well. We handed out quite a few leaflets and people were, generally speaking, very receptive to our efforts. I wore a gorilla costume and held a sign, so that helped get people's attention and attracted kids and their parents, which was really cool. We had a reporter from Eastern Michigan University's school paper talk to us and take a few photos. Right now, the paper is only available online (during the summer semester) but I'll send you an e-mail with the web site address when the story comes out. There was no manager on duty, but an assistant manager came out and talked to us and with the paper. In a nutshell, he said that they have organic milk available and they advertised fair trade coffee during the month of April and featured it as a coffee of the day in April. He also told us that their coffee beans were not genetically engineered. Then he offered us free organic milk lattes (we declinded).
Generally speaking, it went really well. We had a decent # of people who
stopped to talk and ask questions, so I was happy with how things went. I'll
send the media tracking info in as soon as the article is published on the
website. You can see the article on the Starbucks protest on the Eastern Echo, newspaper of Eastern Michigan University, at http://www.easternecho.com

BIRMINGHAM

Greetings to all Two of us leafleted the Starbucks shop in Birmingham this morning between 10.a.m. and 12 noon. We passed out all the leaflets that you sent us plus a few that were left over from last time and were finished by 11.45a.m. We caught the young mothers out for coffee with their friends in the morning time and in fact there was more pedestrian traffic than during our last effort. I got into some fairly heavy political discussion with one or two people about the labeling issue and about the huge cost in lost sales to the american farmers, which came as news to them. One small boy was brutally frank. On emerging from Starbucks he announced "We threw it in the trash". His mother hastily jumped in with "But we read it first". A couple of people took a bunch of leaflets to hand out elsewhere. Generally we were well received, and again were not perceived to be a threat in any way.

EAST LANSING MICH

I ran a two hour, low key leafleting session in front of Starbucks yesterday afternoon. I'll attach a copy of the MS Publisher file that has the leaflets. I made two - one to focus on Fair Trade and one for GMOs and rBGH. I handed out about 300 total, and have a couple hundred left for another leafleting next week. I noticed 3 or 4 people literally stop in their tracks to finish the leaflet. No media. It was an interesting contrast to the last protest - the message was smaller and more contained, but people seemed a lot less defensive and willing to read the info.

DETROIT

 No disguise. I even gave some leaflets to the cops. Of course
action was happening all over Detroit. Bush and Chaney were in town for the
national mayor's conference and after I leafleted Starbucks, I joined the
protesters over at the Renaissance Center for a bit. Incidentally, have you
seen the latest issue of Sierra Club magazine? Genetic Engineering is
plastered all over it!!! Plus, not unlike Starbucks and the coffee cartels, they have an articleabout flowers grown in third world countries, all the pesticides they use and the poor treatment of workers and growers.

Minnesota

MPLS LYNDALE AND 25TH

I was at the Starbuck¹s at 54th and Lyndale in Minneapolis from 10:30 to 11:30 am today. I went into the shop and gave both employees a few leaflets and told them I was going to be handing them to people outside. They seemed a little surprised, but said fine. One of them came out to ask me if I knew they were going to start carrying organic milk. I told them we were happy about that. We discussed some of the issues- she understood where we are coming from and seemed concerned herself. The district manager showed up later and we had quite a lengthy conversation. he was also very friendly-he said it is such a big company it is difficult to make things happen quickly and I assured him we would continue our pressure to help move things along. Only one person declined the leaflet. Several people said keep up the good work. I really had the feeling I was doing a service and was being received as such. No negative vibes all day, only positive feedback. I will definitely do it again between organized event dates.
 

MPLS DINKYTOWN

the action at dinkytown starbucks was definitely successful! we had 4 people
out handing out leaflets on all of the streets and corners by the starbucks.
there was a very positive and supportive response - and a few in depth
conversations with regular starbucks customers that resulted in them
deciding to look more into what they are consuming. we gave the starbucks's
employees the letter to orin smith to read and soon an employee came out,
chatted for a minute, and gave us free water.today went really, really well and i feel as though we were very effective.

MPLS UPTOWN, CALHOON SQUARE

The Uptown Mpls leaflet went well. Six of us showed up and we must have handed out 600 plus flyers. No press or cops. When I got there I went into the store and introduced myself to the MGR and gave him two copies of the letter to Orin Smith for him to share with the employees as well as the flyer. All he said was "you know next week we start to offer organic milk." I said THAT'S GREAT, is all that you will be using? And he walked away and never came back. I don't think he showed the letter to the employees.

People were very receptive and most did seem to know about FT coffee and were aware of the GE issue. I let most people I talked with know about our web site and asked them to send a FAX to Orin. It was a beautiful day.

ST. PAUL

I arrived at the Starbucks at Selby and Snelling (171 Snelling Ave N) early, a little after 10:00 AM and was there until a little after 2:00 PM. When I arrived, I went into Starbucks and asked what their coffee of the day was. Of course, it was not fair-trade coffee. I asked if they ever have fair-trade coffee for their special of the day. Answer: NO. Also, they did not have any fair-trade coffee brewed. I was told I could buy some packaged that was on the shelf. At that point, I handed them a flier and informed them I would be leafleting. (I also asked if they used milk with rBGH, but never got a response)

Soon after I started handing out the fliers, a manager came out and wanted me to leave. I informed her that I was on public property and could continue to hand out leaflets. She tells me that they do serve fair-trade coffee but brew it only up on customer request. I reminded her that was not the response I received earlier. She said they brew it only upon customer request because (you guessed it) there was no demand. I noted that there will not be a demand if they keep it hidden in some corner and do not brew it on a daily basis. I reminded her that Starbucks made promises to actively promote fair-trade coffee. Then she said she was concerned about her customers. I responded that I must be more concerned about her customer's health, as I am concerned about their using and selling dairy products containing rBGH. Also, I was concerned about those people who are suffering, starving, and dying because of the 25 cents per pound they receive outside of fair-trade coffee. I reminded her that with fair-trade coffee, the farmers are paid directly and receive $1.25 a pound, an amount that allows them to survive.

Later an employee brought out their propaganda stating Starbucks buys and promotes Fair-Trade coffee. I told her that only a fractional amount of Starbucks coffee is bought and sold is Fair-Trade. And, again, I noted that if they do not brew it daily and do not use it as their coffee of the day at least one day a week, they are not fulfilling the pledge made by the Starbucks President. At least 80% of the people willing took the leaflets. Many went in requesting Fair-Trade Coffee. And, guess what? Starbucks started brewing the Fair-Trade Coffee and put it out front. I realize this is a short-term victory, but it made me feel so very good. I think I did a good job of creating awareness of the problems. I would say that at least half of the people were VERY receptive of the information I provided. I encouraged many to try to attend the Calhoon protest next Tuesday.

Rochester

Here is the brief summation on the protest in Rochester on
Tuesday july  26 at the Peace Plaza/Barnes and Noble at 6:30 pm.  The
Post Bulletin which is the local daily paper did a telephone interview
with me that day.  They photographed the protest, and the story was on
the second page the following day.  I also faxed the media contact sheet
to two different tv stations (which I found out are merging).  They both
aired a very short (30-60 second) story at 9 pm on Fox 47 news and 10 pm
on KTTC news.  I also faxed the media sheet to a radio station KROC AM,
but am unsure if they aired anything involving the Starbucks issue.  The
protest lasted for about 2 and a half hours with an overwhelmingly good
response.  In all, I estimate that about 500 consumer warning sheets went out:  posted, passed out  by individuals and at the local co-op.  At the demonstration, ten people total helped hand out flyers and talk to people in the plaza and around the area in the two and a half hours.  A wide range of people pamphleted ranging in age from teens to senior age and a wide variety of people were interested in what we had to say.  the majority of people were unaware of the issues at hand and were appreciative of the information.  When I went into the Starbucks to talk to the manager and to give theinformation to her/him, I first met a young man behind the counter.  He told  me that it wasn't a Starbucks, so my first hurdle was getting him to understand that he worked for starbucks as i clearly pointed out the obvious details and displays.  He passed me on to his co  worker who was
very rude to me and told me to find the manager of Barnes and Noble.  So,
eventually I met with Ann , and she was pleasant.  She wanted me to know
that Barnes and Noble only receives services from Starbucks, but are not
the same business.  I told her the appropriate action would be for her to
then pass along these very concerning issues to Starbucks. We set up
a table and served three varieties of fair traded coffee, serving out 4
pots.  And had at hand ge free, organicsoy milk and  half and half.  We
also brought fair traded chocolates for people to try.  I'll send you
copies of flyers distributed, news article, and photographs. 

Missouri

Kansas City

On June 25, 2001 the biotechnology industry held its annual meeting in San
Diego to help promote, among other things, the concept that bioengineered
foods can "feed the world". Never mind that the planting of bioengineered
crops has actually resulted in crop failures. In protest of the "vision" by
the biotechnology industry a group of activists lead by the Organic
Consumers Association held their "Global Days of Action" protest on June
25th and 26th around various Starbucks cafes in an ongoing campaign to get
Starbucks to brew fair trade coffee and remove bioengineered recombinant
bovine growth hormone (rBGH) from the milk they use in their coffee.

In Kansas City, a handful of activists leafleted the Starbucks at 401
Westport Road near the Broadway Cafe at 10 a.m. The reason this time was chosen was it was a slow business period for nearby Broadway Cafe and we were trying to promote the Broadway's business. Unfortunately, there were not many coffee drinkers and when I can home after an unsuccessful protest the John Cougar Mellencamp tune "Authority Song" was playing on my car radio. "I fight authority, authority always wins" was a sad but true epitaph of the campaign. However, Mellencamp also sang "you've got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything."

Perhaps the best way to promote this protest is to ask local coffee
merchants to brew fair trade coffee and ask them to purchase local, organic
milk such as Green Hill Harvest (Purdin, MO) available at local Price
Choppers, Hen Houses and Wild Oats stores. In Kansas City you can find
brewed fair trade at the Nutty Girl on 39th Street, Ten Thousand Villages in
downtown Overland Park and the Borders bookstore at 91st and Metcalf. You can also order bags of fair trade Zapatista coffee by calling (816) 444-FOOD or purchase bags from the above vendors or at the Dolphin Song in Gardner, Kansas. Wild Oats does not use the TransFair label but claims they purchase from small coffee cooperatives.

Nevada

I was at the Starbucks in Sparks, NV located at North McCarran and Pyramid Hwy on both days (6/25 & 6/26) from 8:00am to 10:00am. Unfortunately, the manager was not present when I first arrived. At first the employees said I was not welcome, there was a company policy not to allow distribution of these flyers, and I could not be near their store front. However, they said they were not ready to call any police, so I began to talking and leafleting, and having a good time. I distributed over 50 flyers each day and it was a success. I received a lot of positive feedback and even the Starbucks employees came around. They even displayed some fresh Free-Trade Coffee, brewed some, and offered sample cups to the customers. We were working together without any animosity. I'll be happy to help out again.

New Hampshire

We had a good day too!  Five of us took turns handing out leaflets between 8:00 -- 8:30am and noon -- 12:30pm or actually not quite until 12:30 since we ran out of leaflets before that.  We got a generally pretty good response from people and got a decent article with photo in the local newspaper. I will send you a copy. If I didn't mention it previously, I also wanted to let you know that I am the president of Sustainable Harvest International.  We are a nonprofit that does sustainable development work in the tropics.  One of our main focuses is on helping poor farmers to grow and market organic, fairtrade, shade coffee.  If you think of any ways that our organizations can collaborate, please let me know.  My partner and I spend close to half the year in Central America, so if we can do anything from that end just let us know.

New York

Albany

Overall, it was a good experience. The location was not so busy, however I had the chance to speak with several people for quite a while. They were suprised about the info because of Starbucks image of being enviro friendly. They were happy to be informed and said that they will request fair trade coffee at the least. The manager at the store came out with a pot of fair trade coffee and offered me a cup. I politely declined and spoke with her for a while about why I was there. I handed out half of the material I had there and then left because the traffic slowed down at the store. I then went to another location in the area, talked to some more people, and put the info on cars in the lot. One of the charming maintenance workers saw me doing this and called security on me. They said that I wasn't allowed to hand stuff out in that particular strip mall. I left then because I wasn't exactly sure about my right to be there. I did however manage to get all the info out in some way or another. It was a good experience and I was very glad to help out and inform people. Please don't hesitate to contact me in the future for upcoming actions or events.

Buffalo

The leafletting went great. there were about 6 of us and we passed out all 100 leafs and i made extras too. no news crew. i am new to this and want to do it again and try to organize some sort of media coverage. its alot of work for me. im single with 2 kids but its alot of fun and its for my kids, ya know? i will be in touch again soon or call on the telephone. Thanks!!

NYC

 From 12 to 1:30 I stood in Front of Starbucks and gave out leaflets to passersby who would take them; in an hour and a half I gave out about 2/3 of the leaflets that you had sent to me.  About half a dozen people stopped to chat and most of those admitted that they hated Starbucks.   Between half a dozen and a dozen stopped to learn more about the issues when I started explaining them.   Unfortunately, I had no sign or fancy costume so I was doing this rather anonymously.  The store was unaware, totally, of what was going on.  Well, although I was doing this all alone, and for such a short time, I do consider my endeavour successful.  People uptown in NY often don't have the time of day to even receive a leaflet, and I distributed many more than I thought I would.

LOCATION OF STARBUCKS  29 Park Pl., Bronxville, NY

DATE & TIME OF LEAFLETING

6/25/01, noon to 1 pm (when the cops shut us down for lack of a permit)

ABOUT HOW MANY LEAFLETERS PARTICIPATED?  9

LIST OF MEDIA COVERAGE

PRINT  - daily / weekly newspapers (enclose articles and  photos if available)
  
New York Journal News attended but apparently didn’t run an  article.
 
RADIO

I appeared on WVOX-AM speaking about the event.

 TV   - News 12 Westchester ran a segment.

WHAT RESPONSES DID YOU HAVE FROM STARBUCKS’ EMPLOYEES?

Catatonic. I asked them to brew me a cup of Fair Trade coffee and they refused. They did however talk to a reporter and gave him the Starbucks line (they’re doing their best, there’s not enough BGH- free milk or Fair Trade coffee in the world, etc.)

HOW DID THE STARBUCKS’ CUSTOMERS RESPOND?

They avoided us. However, there was a lot of interest among  passersby.

OTHER COMMENTS?

Thank you for making this easy. The materials were handy. We blew the CONSUMER WARNING! up to 11 x 17 and made nice signs out of it.

Ohio

SOUTH EUCLID

I leafleted Starbucks in S. Euclid, OH yesterday evening. It was a busy
intersection, so a lot of people saw my sign, "NO Sweatshop Coffee". I think the message may have been too subtle since some people asked what it meant, although that may have been a good thing.  A couple of older gentlemen who stated they were involved in unions and thecivil rights movement thanked me for doing what I was doing. Some people justasked for more information. A couple young males asked why I was picketing
Starbucks since they are so "socially responsible", told me I didn't know what I was talking about, and suggested I was anti-American. I think I answered their questions well, thanks to the information you guys sent me, but I don't think they will be joining our organization any time soon. All in all, it was a great experience. Let me know how else I can help.

Ontario

London

I just thought I would let you know how our leafleting went in London, Ontario.  Two of us started leafleting outside of Chapters bookstore, where the Starbucks is located at 10:00 am on Monday.  We only gave leaflets to people exiting the store.  We also brought extra literature on Fair Trade Coffee and Genetically Modified foods. Some people would actually pull up to the curb in their car after reading the leaflet and ask for more info.    I left at 1:30 when 2 other members of our union showed up to take over.  They declined to leave when asked later that afternoon and the police showed up.  Apparently the police were very helpful and suggested that they leaflet the other Starbucks in London.    When 2 sisters from our union showed up at the other location, the employees made it clear that they supported the leaflet and the manager made no move to remove them.  He just wanted to know how long they would stay.   All in all, I think the day was quite successful and many customers showed interest in the Starbuck's issues.  Several customers were quite educated on the issues and asked for your website, which we included in the additional literature.    Thanks for your help and you may be hearing more from us in the future.  Our Environment Committee and our Political Education / Action Committee decided several months ago that we would pursue Fair Trade Coffee at our local Union Office and at our place of Employment (which is Cami Automotive Inc., a General Motors / Suzuki facility where we built Suzuki Vitara, Chevy Tracker, etc.)   Hopefully our pursuits will eventually lead us to "Tim Hortons", which is the largest and fastest growing coffee shop empire in Canada.    In solidarity.

Greetings, there were five of us handing out leaflets out front of the Starbucks in the Chapters Store. No media but we handed out all the leaflets we had and engaged in a number of very supportive discussions. This was considered by all of us to be a great event especially because of the people who stopped to talk and read the leaflet.

Oregon

Ashland

We leafleted in Ashland during the lunch hour on Monday; gave out over 100 leaflets; no press showed up, they'd been there already in April. We met with the manager and got input from one of the workers to the tune of:  Why are you targeting us? What about all the other coffee brewers that aren’t serving fair trade/organics?

Eugene

I just finished leafleting Starbucks. The turnout was small; it was myself
and another person. However, the amount of people we reached was large. We distributed all of our leaflets (all that you sent the both of us). We got
a few signatures, and people who were interested in more info, we gave
them a Sierra Club newsletter that was dedicated to the issue. Had a
person who had just returned from Guatemala come up to thank us for our
work because he saw first-hand the deplorable working conditions. Also
spoke with a biochemist who said it was the work he does. I took the
opportunity to educate him with my perspective on the issue. In other
words, we spoke with many people. Most people were very supportive.
Before we started the protest I visited the store manager, and gave her a
copy of the newsletter and fliers that we distributed. She was very kind
and thanked me for the work that I was doing.

Bend

Hi...it went fine, I ended up leafleting the new Starbucks also, it is
located inside of a Safeway grocery store...so, all together I hit all 3 of
their stores...people were really interested & some surprised by the
information I handed them .It did make the news here as a short blip...Just
gave basic info regarding why Organic Consumers Asso. are "protesting"
Starbucks.....

Salem, OR:
 It went well for us, we have about 60 leaflets left.  There was an article in the paper the following day.

Portland

Overall the event was a success- with managment sending out its nervous
employees to pass out samples of fare-trade coffee, and Nordstrom shoppers curious enogh to stop and check out our literature.  At one point there were about 30 people holding signs and handing out leaflets, in total about 50 people stopped by to lend a hand. Two TV stations showed up but I'm not sure if it made it on to the news. The corporate print media flopped, despite repeated press releases. Our local community radio station (KBOO 90.7) did a great job of promoting the event. A week prior to the action I was interviewed for about 12 minutes on the air. The Starbucks manager at our location tried to tell me that customers were free to order a freshly brewed cup of fair-trade coffee (and it would even be made in the french press). They said this was true at all Starbucks all the time. They also claimed to soon be offering the choice of organic milk. Along with the action at Pioneer Square several other locations in Portland were leafleted by one or two people over June 25th and 26th. There are plans to
continue these smaller leafleting events.

Texas

ARLINGTON TX

Everything went good. I passed out approximately 100 fliers. A few people were slightly agitated but most were interested. I'm a tad wore out so I'm planning to wait until wed to hit a different store. (Hope that's ok) Out of curiosity I looked in the Dallas phone book for Dallas Starbucks store locations. I was amazed to see 10 to 20 locations. I think we definitely need more organized people in this area. If there's anything
I can do to help, just let me know.

SUGARLAND TX

I handed out and planted fliers around in the Barnes & Nobles adjoining as well as in different places on the shelves in the Starbucks on Mon night and Tues. late afternoon.

Virginia

Charlottesville

I handed out a few leaflets and one of the starbucks employees came out and told me she would call the police if I did not leave.....so I left after only
handing out a couple leaflets.

Just wanted to let you know how it went on Monday. We were able to hand out about 60 leaflets and flyers that I had photocopied and were interviewed by a journalist from the Springfield Connection. It will run tomorrow and I will pick up a copy. If you would like me to send you a copy, let me know the address. I can also send in the media response form with it. There was a Japanese journalist there who was asking lots of question about OCA's stance on the starlink corn.

Washington

Leavenworth/Wenatchee

The looks of surprise on peoples' faces when I told them that the milk Starbucks uses contains bovine growth hormone showed me that people simply do not know what is being done to cows and their milk. They were grateful to me for telling them and a number of people will now refuse to buy other than organic milk. Probably 80% of the people I approached were interested and said they would read the leaflet and look for more information on the website. The Starbucks employees showed me that they had organic milk in a refrigerator in the back if people asked and said that if people asked, they would prepare organic coffee from what they sell on the shelf. I told them that was nice, but not good enough, that the organic coffee must be on the reader board for individual orders and that no rBGH milk should be served.

 Bellingham

We just spent sometime at two Bellingham locations, the customers were
interested in the leaflets, and also excited to see it was a campaign to
work with starbucks to improve, not just totally against there beloved
starbucks.  Tuesday we are going to go to Western Washington as well it is
there first day of summer classes so there should be a lot of customers
there.

 Issaquah

I handed out leaflets at Gilman Boulevard Starbuck's in Issaquah from
10 until 12:30.  I kept hoping someone would relieve me as after 12:30 there
was very little traffic coming in and I had to leave because of unexpected
company from out of town.  I would guess about 50 people took the handouts and most were interested.  Only had three who said "no, thanks."
 
 Lacey

Starbucks was very interesting.  The server was fine with me being there, I
had some signs on, and propped up against my car, and stood at the side of
their front door.  Most people accepted the flyer, I said we were trying to
get Starbucks to use better milk.  It's amazing how threatened most people
felt, and I'm 5 ft and 50 something!  Some people said they didn't drink
milk, some said they were happy with the milk, a few were surprised and
interested in finding out about BGH.  Many had no idea what it was!!  Quite
a few asked me why pick on Starbucks.  A couple of the staff came and said
that Starbucks were going to be using organic milk very soon, like next
week!  A suited man and woman came, she walked past me with a scowl on her face and said, "so you're the BGH person", they stayed a while, then left.
I reckon they were management.

North Bend

I had an exciting visit to my local North Bend Starbux this afternoon. Within a few minutes of arriving a high school employee confronted me and told me I couldn't be in front of their store. I told her I believed it was my right; she said no, it wasn't. Out of deference I told her I would move a few feet away. Then the manager came out, smoking, livid. I asked her the questions on the flyer, and she was able to answer well on two: availability of fairtrade and shadegrown coffee on premises. To the others, she had the predicted response: "We're working on these things; they can't be done overnight." I told her she was doing good things and congratulated her, assured her that this campaign had several larger corporate issues to address, such as GE and Bov growth hormone and econ justice. She gave the stock answer that those people have the right to choose, and we have no right to interfere with their culture. I calmly asserted that "we" have the responsibility to assure a living wage, so that children are not dying for lack a medicine at ten cents a day. She seemed greatly relieved when i purchased a cup of fairtrade coffee from her store, which also allowed me to enter the store and continue with the discussion, for all to hear, especially those high school employees. On a sadder note, she did send one of the kids out to take my picture when i resumed my leafleting. Maybe she wants to put it in the paper... By the way, a police officer I offered a flyer to politely declined, due to his being in uniform.

Bellevue: Factoria Mall location

I participated in an informational leaflet distribution this morning
between 8 and 9 AM in front of the Factoria Blvd. store next to QFC. In
that hour I handed out over 200 leaflets. I asked folks going into the
store to request  Fair Trade Coffee when ordering their drink this
morning, as I handed them a leaflet from the Organic Consumers
Association. Nothing more, nothing less. Dressed in my business suit ,I
was greeted with obscenities not once, but twice from Starbucks
Employees as they were entering  and leaving the store! All this within
earshot of Starbucks Customers. Is this acceptable employee behavior? I
was not asking people not to buy from Starbucks, I was not 'denigrating'
Starbucks in any way. To be treated in this manner was surprising. I was
told I was an 'asshole' and that  'no one gave a shit' about what I was
talking about, that why didn't I protest in front of the QFC? My
response is that QFC gave me a choice in what I could purchase, organic
milk and non-GMO soy milk. I was polite and friendly throughout both
unpleasant barrages. I plan to return to hand out the rest of my flyers.
I am also writing to the newspapers about the employee's 'reactions' to
urging consumers to request Fair Trade Coffee.

Seattle

I visited the Starbucks manager at the start of our rally.  He was very friendly and wanted to try our Fair Trade coffee that we had out in front of their store.  Our rally started at 5:30 pm and we handed out over 500 flyers. We had a crowd of 75 people chanting and singing.  Lots of leaflets were given to people in cars when they were stopped at this major intersection.  It was an upbeat afternoon.  We had people with signs on all four corners of the intersection. Myself, a Rep from the Operating Engineers and
Rev. Jeffrey spoke.  We spoke from the steps which were located at the front door of the Starbucks store.

Poulsbo

Went fine. Two of us passed out leaflets at the Poulsbo Starbucks for one  hour. Almost everyone took the information. Some seemed interested and others seemed intruded upon. A few stopped to talk. The staff inside Starbucks were fine with our actions. No visits by local media. All in all, it was definitely worth the time and effort.

Spokane
In Spokane gave out approx 60 leaflets.

Just wanted to give you a brief update on our Starbuck's leafleting event:  I'd say there were about 10 of us there pacing around Starbucks on 18th and H St.  We had some great signs and two people successfully passing out leaflets for a good hour.  There was a range of responses. Some wouldn't give us the time of day, other's wanted to talk for quite some time.  I think the most significant response was that the store manager came out and talked to Larry Bohlen asking why we had chosen his store and for more information.  Larry is confident based on the conversation that a phone call or report will be submitted by the manager regarding the protest. 

Wisconsin

 MADISON 6-22

11:00am- Julia Butterfly Hill, Anne Petermann, and Ronnie Cummins meet local activists at the UW Greens InfoShop and prepare things that need to be taken to the rally like signs made the previous night, hand bills, and a podium.
11:15- activists and media start arriving at Starbucks on 661 State St. and
Cafe Assisi brings Equal Exchange Coffee (two different kinds) and they also
made their own version of Frappucino, but Assisicino was both vegan and
organic.
11:30- More media and activists join. Julia begins talking and EVERYONE
pays attention.Coincidently there is a human rights conference on the UW campus and Deborah James from Global Exchange joins us and Ruth Ozeki is in town and at the rally (author of "My Year of Meats").
11:50 Local Activist and author John Stauber escorts Julia to the Madison
Community radio station WORT were she talks about her tree-sit, her book, GE foods/trees, the Starbuck$ campaign, etc.Meanwhile back at the demonstration Ronnie begins talking as a larger crowd gathers and the Green Block shows up on their bikes with BioHazard Gear and signs.
12:40 Deborah James takes the podium as Ronnie Cummins calls into WORT and gives a report about the demo.
1:00 all 600 leaflets are taken and all the coffee is drank(?) people rap up and get ready for lunch
1:30 Julia, Ronnie, Anne, Ruth, Stacia, and local activists me, John Peck,
John Stauber, Mark Harmon, and Cafe Assisi collective member/owners sit down to lunch at the cafe and discuss up coming activities

6:00 OCA, Circle of Life Foundation, Native Forest Network, and the UW
Greens set up tables to the entrance of the talk. People are already
showing up to the talk which doesn't begin until seven.

7:15 Ronnie begins the discussion by telling the crowd that Starbucks wants
to negotiate with the OCA and the crowd goes nuts. He continues to discuss
genetic engineering from food to trees. Then Anne Petermann talks about her
organization and detailed accounts of the harmful effects of GE trees on the
environment.Then came Julia and she tied everything together and just blew everyone away. People were so inspired that they stuck around until 10:30 signing petitions and talking to Julia.

MADISON 6-25

I went to Madison today, there was 5 of us. Very low key. We gave out 150 flyers. Lots of interest, one guy went down the street to a independent coffeehouse instead. Said he always has a quandary when seeing a starbucks and wants coffee. I told him to call Orin and let him know his decision. Alot of people didn't know there is a problem.

MADISON 6-25

The leafleting in Madison was quite successful, for as little man-power as we had on the 25th... there were five of us... we were determined, of course, and we handed out everything we had in about an hour...  most of the reactions were positive and, in fact, in great support of what we were doing... i thought it was interesting to see how many people reacted by saying "i'm on your side already" or "i never go in that place"... it seems the last couple of protests and leafletings had made many people aware of the concerns... one woman took the information to an extreme i wasn't totally prepared for... she wanted to know how she could trust the information we were giving her, as though we were making everything up, and how we knew Starbucks wasn't using more Fair Trade coffees than our leaflet professed... i let her know she could access the Organic Consumer Association's website and request any information about the facts presented, but she insisted i know the information, and she proceeded to buy a cup of coffee anyway... i'm not sure whose side she was on, even if she claimed to agree with what we are doing needless to say, i had a great time there and am prepared to venture to madison again if need be in order to offer more support for our concerns... thanks for all the information...

MILWAUKEE

Our leafleting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin went wonderfully. We had 30 people on Monday and on Tuesday and we stayed from noon to about 1:30-2pm both days. Representatives from the local Food Not Bombs(most of the people), the Milwaukee Youth against sweatshops group, Casa Maria Catholic Worker, and a few people from a local university group attended the leafleting. We leafleted, sang songs, drummed, held many signs, did sidewalk chalking (pictures and phrases), chanted (with a bullhorn at times), talked to MANY people, and gave out free organic, free trade alterra coffee along with vegan banana bread to passersby. Many people took out coffee and bread instead of going into starbucks! Woo hoo! We were on the local channel 6 and 58 (but maybe even more-I don't know). Even the police (who Starbucks called) were rather supportive to our cause! I went in and talked to the manager and she was nice but just kept repeating what the Starbucks Corporation told her to say, which is to be expected. We are all ready for the next mobilization day! Do you know when it is?