I Prefer Dunn Brothers

20% of NYC Starbucks stores cited for health department violations including infestations of rodents, roaches and flies:

The complaints filed by Starbucks employees with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration focus on three stores - at Union Square East, E. Ninth St. and Second Ave., and E. 57th St. and Lexington Ave.

"I constantly have to deal with mice, cockroaches and fruit flies all over the place," said Tomer Malchi, 24, who works at the Union Square store. "The root of the problem is that we're never staffed properly to clean the place right and we never have the right equipment to clean the stores."

Starbucks responds that it's a shabby attempt to unionize the baristas:

Starbucks, which has refused to recognize the union, brushed off the allegations as "the latest tactic in an aggressive campaign against Starbucks and our partners that is designed to damage the credibility and good name of the company" by a "very small number" of current and former employees.

On the one hand, one would think that bugs is bugs; they're there, or they aren't. And it's NYC, where until the middle of the Giuliani era the roaches actually ran some parts of the Bronx.

On the other hand, "lookit how shortstaffed we are! We just can't clean up!" sounds like the kind of thing you'd expect from people trying to strongarm a company into unionizing.

Posted by Mitch at August 17, 2006 06:51 AM | TrackBack