UK
Let’s Organise GAIL’s!
Inspired by efforts such as the American SWU’s to organise Starbucks workers, Henry Fowler from the Organise Now steering group argues that it’s time we organised GAIL’s coffee shop workers.
According to the latest data from the Government, in 2023 the trade union movement grew by 89,000 members. Whilst this level of growth is positive, it represents a fraction of the members we lost in 2022, which amounted to 200,000, two-thirds of them women in the private sector.
Despite the growth in support of unions shown across many public polls, the huge strike wave of 2022-2023, with many wins across the economy, our movement is in decline.
That is why in September 2022, backed by Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), Strike Map and Notes From Below, we launched Organise Now. A peer-to-peer organising support project, borrowed from the success of a similar sister project in the USA known as the Emergency Workplace Organising Committee (EWOC).
As part of the development of Organise Now, we have been able to secure support from ASLEF and NUS UK, which has shown enthusiasm for the project to rebuild our movement from the bottom up. We have taken days of action, supported workers one-to-one, delivered collective in-person training sessions, and most recently launched an organising bot, all of which have supported workers organising from the charity sector, social care, education, and healthcare.
Part of our work has been watching, learning, and reflecting on the incredible campaign by Starbucks Workers United (SWU), who, up until August 2024, have filed for unions in over 480 Starbucks stores across 46 U.S. states. This has seen a win rate of over 80%, meaning workers have won unions store by store.
Inspired by these incredible campaigners, strikers, and the interesting tactical approaches of SWU, Organise Now is looking to develop a similar campaign with GAIL’s workers. No longer the ‘high-end’ independent coffee shop vibe, GAIL’s has grown across the UK with over 130 stores, as well as a major business restructure, seeing the premium bakery split from the coffee shops, as huge hedge funds take over.
What has this meant for GAIL’s workers? Well, as you can imagine, poor working conditions. Despite the cost of that frappuccino and almond croissant, 88% of workers don’t have access to sick pay and often feel stressed at work, 83% of workers say they don’t get paid breaks, 58% are subject to changing schedules with one week’s notice or less (according to breakroom, February 2024).
With the proportion of workers in a trade union across hospitality being at 2.3% and the growth of GAIL’s and the changes to its business model, we believe now is the time to focus our volunteer organising efforts to support a campaign to improve pay and conditions in the chain, store by store, developing member-led campaigns, organising, and bargaining.
Our plan is in development and discussion with existing BFAWU GAIL’s members, and we are inviting volunteers from our project, local trades councils, and all those who want to win with workers to a kick-off meeting on 12 September 6pm via zoom. If you want to get involved, please register here.
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