Starbucks denies cockroaches and rats infest New York outlets
Pastor Dale Morgan
Starbucks denies cockroaches and rats infest New York outlets
Welcome to StarBugs
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Oliver Burkeman in New York
Friday August 18, 2006
The Guardian
Starbucks branches in New York are infested with rats and cockroaches
yet the company refuses to do anything about it, say workers who have
filed a complaint against the chain with the US government.
One activist, at a rally outside a Starbucks in Union Square, Manhattan,
where protesters were joined by a giant inflatable rat, said: "It's part
of your job to smile excessively but at the same time I'm scared to
reach into the cabinet because something might crawl in my hand."
Article continues
The campaigners released amateur footage of cockroaches and dead rats in
what they said were Starbucks backrooms.
The chain denies the allegations, and argues that the complaint to the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in Washington, was "the
latest tactic in an aggressive campaign against Starbucks and our
partners [employees] that is designed to damage the credibility and good
name of the company".
The activists are linked to a campaign to establish a workers' union at
Starbucks. The coffee chain has rejected the unionisation demand,
claiming the work environment, with the firm's "outstanding compensation
and benefits", made unions "unnecessary".
The official view is that New York Starbucks cafes are above average
with regard to hygiene.
The city's health department found 44 of the 201 branches in violation
of its codes last year but all branches scored better than the average
for a New York restaurant.