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☆ Read Your Way Through the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Luis Alberto Urrea | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I was born in Tijuana and spent much of my boyhood in a neighborhood — “colonia,” in TJ-speak — called Independencia. The borderlands are the most interesting book in the world, being rewritten every day. A city so defamed, a city so generous.” I dare say most people don’t think of any border city, on either side of the wall, as generous. My favorite border pop song is by Nortec Collective (more on them below), and it’s called “Tijuana Makes Me Happy.” Yeah — the border makes me happy. But I do not believe that immigration stories are a subset of the literature of the borderlands: Though there is some cross-pollination, I believe immigration literature is a genre of its own, deserving of its own spotlight.

Persons: Gabriel García Márquez, narco, Jaime Cháidez Bonilla, ”, it’s Organizations: ersatz, Twitter, Nortec Locations: Tijuana, ”, TJ, Independencia, Mexican

☆ Starbucks union claims dozens of stores aren't allowed to decorate for Pride
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Starbucks Workers United said Tuesday that dozens of the coffee chain's U.S. stores aren't allowing employees to decorate for Pride month. A Starbucks spokesperson told CNBC that the company's security and safety manual provides broad guidance for stores around decorations. Some Massachusetts workers were told that there weren't enough labor hours to schedule partners to decorate, the union said. And managers told employees in Maryland that some people didn't feel represented by the "umbrella of pride," according to the labor group. Oklahoma Starbucks workers were also prohibited from hanging Pride flags in store windows.

Persons: hasn't, Baristas Organizations: Starbucks, Highland, Parade, Starbucks Workers, CNBC, U.S, Republican, Anheuser, Busch InBev, Kohl's, Workers, Pride, Target, Washington Post Locations: Hollywood, Los Angeles , California, United States, Massachusetts, Maryland, Oklahoma

☆ Americans are tipping less often than ever. Nearly 1 in 3 say tipping culture is 'out of control.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Americans say they are tipping workers less often over the last 3 years. A new survey from Bankrate shows that people are getting increasingly frustrated with tipping. Among the 2,400 people who took part in a new survey from Bankrate, two-thirds said they have at least one negative opinion of tipping, with 30% saying they believe tipping culture has gotten "out of control" in recent years. "Few topics elicit as many passionate opinions as tipping," Bankrate senior industry analyst Ted Rossman said in a post about the survey. Only half of the 2,400 people said they always tip food delivery people, along with 40% that always tip taxi, Lyft, or Uber drivers.

Persons: Zers, —, Ted Rossman, Gen Zers, McDonald's Organizations: Service, Baltimore Apple, Walmart Locations: Bankrate, Colorado

☆ Starbucks' iconic coffee cup has a climate problem as mobile, drive-thru orders boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Kaitlin Balasaygun | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

The experience of on-the-go coffee may be reshaped if Starbucks achieves its reusable cup goal. Reusable coffee cup initiatives around the worldStarbucks has been experimenting with reusable cup concepts in markets around the world. Customers can then return their reusable cup at a participating store or by using the Starbucks app at a cup return kiosk. Even though a reusable cup option has been in place at Starbucks for over 30 years, many consumers, and Starbucks employees, remain oblivious to its existence. The future of the Starbucks' cup has broad implications.

Persons: —, Amelia Landers, Matt Prindiville, hasn't, Conrad MacKerron, MacKerron, Prindiville, IGD, Prindville, Kelly McBee, McBee, They're, Landers, Grace Lee Organizations: Starbucks, Business, CNBC, Arizona State University, Consulting, Clean Locations: Colorado, Hawaii, Taiwan, South Korea, Tokyo, Singapore, London, Geneva, Paris, Europe, Middle East, Africa, U.S, Seattle

☆ I hate asking for tips but I need them as a minimum-wage worker. It feels so awkward to swivel the tip screen around to customers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Fortesa Latifi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

This service worker gets paid below minimum wage, but doesn't like asking for tips. They said it feels so awkward to swivel the tip screen around to customers. It makes me feel so awkward to swivel the tip screen around to the customer — it's one of my least favorite parts of my job. First, I don't think our customers realize that we rely on tips to make the bulk of our paycheck and we're not even paid minimum wage. It's hard to know what to do these days with the tip screen popping up everywhere.

☆ Americans hate tipping so much it was once banned in 7 states
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

By the 1700's, tipping in Europe had evolved from masters tipping servants to customers tipping service-industry workers. Seven states passed anti-tipping legislation in the early 1900sBy the early 1900s, early grumblings about tipping had escalated into full-fledged anti-tipping movements. But in 1919, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the state's anti-tipping law was unconstitutional, and other states followed by striking down or repealing their own similar legislation. Tipping persists in the US todayDespite originating in Europe, tipping has become deeply ingrained in American culture. Today, while many Americans aren't fans of tipping, and some restaurants have tried doing away with the practice, tipping is unlikely to be banned anywhere in the US anytime soon.

☆ I hate asking for tips but I need them as a minimum-wage worker — sometimes it makes me feel so awkward
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Fortesa Latifi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

This service worker gets paid below minimum wage, but doesn't like asking for tips. They said it feels so awkward to swivel the tip screen around to customers. It makes me feel so awkward to swivel the tip screen around to the customer — it's one of my least favorite parts of my job. First, I don't think our customers realize that we rely on tips to make the bulk of our paycheck and we're not even paid minimum wage. Editor's note: The Illinois state minimum wage is $13 an hour.

☆ Get ready for a Starbucks ice overhaul: new 'nugget' ice is coming to stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Gloria Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The round, pellet-like ice nuggets will replace the thin ice chips Starbucks currently offers. Starbucks' current ice cubes. Starbucks said in several tests, it found the nugget ice does not melt faster than its current ice cubes, and that most customers didn't notice the difference in ice. The company said they'd be using the same ice scoop, and the volume of ice per beverage would not change. Various restaurant supply and ice machine manufacturer sites tout the versatility of nugget ice, including that it is easy to blend.

☆ Starbucks is changing its ice cubes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Starbucks is changing its ice cubes. Customers who order cold beverages will now sip on “nugget ice” in their drinks, ice pieces which are smaller than the chain’s current cubes. The nuggets don’t melt any faster, the company said, and the switch to nuggets doesn’t mean customers will get any less ice since baristas are using the same ice scoop. New Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan sees room for improvement in the business, which includes installing new equipment. Starbucks said in a statement that the new ice machines use less water and will be rolling out to all its stores over the next several years.

☆ 24-year-old barista's side hustle earns $9,000 a month, more than her full-time job—it only takes 8 hours a week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The idea behind Morgan Eckroth's social media business is simple: Create the "warmness and comfort of a coffee shop" online. Eckroth launched her account, MorganDrinksCoffee, as an experiment to hone her social media marketing skills in June 2019. While I was getting my degree [at Oregon State University], I always knew I wanted to go into media marketing and digital advertising. How does having a successful social media business affect the way you consume social media? I try my best not to consume my own content or other coffee content online.

☆ Starbucks to Charge Customers $1 for 'No Water' Refresher Requests
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Gloria Dawson | Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Starbucks told Insider it will charge customers $1 for Refresher drinks requested with no water. Starting May 9, Starbucks will charge $1 to customers who request no water in Refreshers, a company spokesperson told Insider. A Starbucks spokesperson said the customization requires more Refresher base, and the price increase accounts for the additional product. Three Starbucks employees told Insider they were nervous about facing backlash from customers over the new charge. In the past, when Starbucks discontinued syrups or changed how customers earned Starbucks Star rewards, some employees have said they faced angry customers.

☆ Luckin Coffee — the Starbucks of China — is punishing staff for getting drink orders wrong by making them copy down lines of customer complaints: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Luckin Coffee is punishing staff by making them copy lines of customer complaints, Jiupai News reported. A Luckin customer service rep told the outlet the punishment aimed to encourage staff to read customers' notes. Punishing adults with copying lines is humiliating," read another response to the post. Luckin Coffee did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. A Luckin customer service staff told Jiupai News in April that it often receives customer complaints about wrong orders and the punishment was being administered so that staff does not forget to read customers' notes.

☆ What would your CEO learn doing your job for a day? We want to know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Hayley Peterson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Some CEOs are moonlighting as frontline workers to root out problems. Uber's CEO became a delivery driver and Starbucks' CEO worked in stores alongside baristas. Do you think your CEO should do your job for a day? Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi secretly signed up as a driver last year, transporting dozens of passengers and deliveries around San Francisco. If you think your CEO should spend a day in your role, tell us why — and what they might learn from the exercise — in this survey.

☆ Starbucks CEO worked in stores and said he found too many shortages and 1,500 combinations for cups and lids
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Hayley Peterson | Gloria Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Starbucks' CEO shared some of his key takeaways after spending time working in stores alongside baristas. He said the company needs to buy cheaper cups and slash the number of lid-and-cup combinations. He said the company needs to buy cheaper cups and slash the number of lid-and-cup combinations. He described stores as "theaters at the front with a factory in the back" and said the company needs to strengthen the factory, in particular. Later, he added, "We can buy different, and we can buy better.

☆ A Traveler’s Guide to Tipping in a Changed World
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Elaine Glusac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Not long into the pandemic, Americans were eager to tip their front-line-working baristas and servers. “This is the hottest topic in etiquette right now,” said Daniel Post Senning, the co-author of “Emily Post Etiquette, The Centennial Edition” and the great-great grandson of the etiquette icon Emily Post. He cites the pressure of inflation, the disruption of the pandemic and the rush back to travel for the unease. “There’s growing anxiety and public discussion around tipping.”Offering guidance on when and how much to tip when you travel, etiquette experts, academics and travelers weighed in with the following advice. Make 15 to 20 percent your restaurant baselineTipping standards at restaurants vary widely around the world.

☆ Starbucks is holding 2-hour employee 'connection' meetings amid heightened tensions with some baristas
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Gloria Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Starbucks is rolling out a new mission and plans for team meetings centered on connection. The new initiatives focus on connection and Starbucks' role in bringing people together, the company said. These so-called connection sessions are nothing more than a thinly-veiled attempt by the company to continue its unprecedented union-busting campaign." The representative from Starbucks disputed the characterization of how Starbucks is working with the union. "Starbucks is in the business of human connection ... and the world needs us more than ever," Narasimhan wrote.

☆ They May Be Just Acquaintances. They’re Important to You Anyway.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Those who interacted with more weak ties reported greater happiness, and a greater sense of well-being and belonging, than those with fewer interactions. The researchers found “within-person differences,” too, showing that the effects were not a result of personalities. The same individuals reported being happier on days they had more interactions. Those in the innermost circle of close ties were almost always family, said Toni Antonucci, a psychologist at the University of Michigan and senior author of the study. The weak ties in the outermost circle included friends, co-workers and neighbors.

☆ We Tested Cold-Brew Coffee Makers—Here Are Our 3 Favorites
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Nick Guy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +11 min

And many, including our top pick, the Oxo Brew Cold Brew Coffee Maker, make a brew that easily rivals a barista’s best. Best overallBest for saving spaceBest for coffee on tapOthers you should know aboutHow we pickedBest overallbuy side top pick OXO Brew Cold Brew Coffee Maker $41 at Amazon $ 52 Save $ 11 $52 at OXO Making delicious cold brew does not get much easier than with this OXO coffee maker. Best for saving spaceOXO Brew Compact Cold Brew Coffee Maker $27 at Amazon $ 34 Save $ 7 $35 at Bloomingdales This is the best cold brew maker if space is at a premium and you don’t drink tons of coffee. GrowlerWerks’ uKeg Nitro Cold Brew Coffee Maker is a different kind of cold brew maker, pumping out a brew that has the consistency of a Guinness. Cold Brew Championships–winning baristas to better understand what it takes to make great cold brew coffee.

Persons: Nick Guy, it’s, You’ll, both.We, that’s, There’s, you’re, Takeya’s, there’s, Brew Kit, It’s Organizations: Amazon, System, Brew, Guinness, Cold Locations: Bloomingdales

☆ When I worked at Uber it was painfully obvious that too many of our women employees had to quit to raise kids. I started a childcare insurance company to fix that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Siran Cao is the co-founder of Mirza, a platform for employer-sponsored childcare insurance. Siran CaoMy mandate was to onboard tens of thousands of drivers really, really, quickly. Even at a well-funded tech company like Uber, though, what struck me was how childcare became a daily operational disruption. The data shows that women who take just one a year off earn 39% less overall than women who don't. While women continue to quietly bear the bulk of this work, I don't believe this is solely women's issue.

☆ Junior doctor strike: Some of England's trainee doctors are paid less than fast-food workers. They've had enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“For too long we have been undervalued,” Vivek Trivedi, co-chair of the BMA junior doctors committee, told a crowd of striking doctors Tuesday. It is difficult to compare the salaries of UK junior doctors with those of their international peers, said Lucina Rolewicz, a researcher at Nuffield Trust, a healthcare think-tank. Junior doctors make up nearly 40% of England’s NHS doctors, according to the confederation. But NHS junior doctors have been squeezed for well over a decade, says former radiologist Tania King-Mohammad. “[Junior doctors’] pay is not reflective of their education, dedication and commitment,” King-Mohammad said.

☆ Bikini baristas won a $500,000 payout in a lawsuit after a city imposed a dress code on restaurant workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A group of bikini baristas won a $500,000 payout from a Washington city after it imposed a dress code. Everett banned workers from showing midriffs and buttocks and required they wear shorts and tank tops. In 2017, seven bikini baristas and the owner of some drive-thru coffee stands filed a lawsuit against the City of Everett after it passed dress code ordinances that banned workers at quick service facilities from wearing bikinis. The ordinances required staff to cover their shoulders, midriffs, and buttocks and wear at least shorts and tank tops. These incidents weren't related to the baristas who filed the lawsuit, Rammerman said.

☆ Hard work just doesn't pay like it used to
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Today's workers, especially gig workers, don't have the security that hard work once promised. Fueling the pessimism about hard work might be that Americans have "been doing nothing but hard work for the last two decades," Jennifer Klein, a Yale labor historian, told Insider. Blame the rise of gig work for hard work not paying offThough Americans work fewer hours now than they have in years past, they're working harder than ever. As a result, "people have experienced hard work and intensified work, but in very, very unpleasant and not particularly rewarding terms," she added. However, deregulation of employment and the dismantling of the New Deal structures of fair work have decoupled hard work and security, Klein said.

☆ Starbucks union pressures board members with billboards, posters – and a butter sculpture
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Nearly 300 company-owned Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize under Workers United, according to National Labor Relations Board data. Starbucks Workers United is deploying a butter sculpture, brass band, billboard and movie posters to put pressure on the coffee chain's board to accept the union. Beth Ford, chief executive officer of Land O'Lakes Inc. (L), and a butter sculpture of land o'lakes her. In the hopes of speeding up the process, just outside of Minnesota's Twin Cities, Starbucks workers will deliver a butter sculpture of Ford to Land O'Lakes' headquarters. "Community allies" will also take part, according to Starbucks Workers United.

☆ Starbucks fires Alexis Rizzo, the Buffalo union worker who 'ignited a movement' to organize
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Starbucks has fired a Buffalo, New York, worker who “ignited a movement” from one of the first stores in the coffee chain to unionize, Starbucks Workers United said Friday. Alexis Rizzo had been shift supervisor at the Genesee Street store in Buffalo for 7 years, the union said. “This is retaliation at its worst,” a statement from Starbucks Workers United said. Nearly 300 locations have voted to join Starbucks Workers United. “What is outrageous to me is not only Starbucks’ anti-union activities and their willingness to break the law, it is their calculated and intentional efforts to stall, stall and stall,” Sanders said during the hearing.

☆ Starbucks fired the employee responsible for igniting the Starbucks Workers United union campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Starbucks fired Alexis Rizzo, the employee responsible for igniting the Starbucks Workers United union campaign, just days after the company's former CEO Howard Schultz testified on Capitol Hill about the coffee chain's alleged union-busting, CNBC confirmed. Starbucks Workers United announced Rizzo's termination in a tweet Saturday and said in a corresponding GoFundMe page that "this is retaliation at its worst." It was like my family," Rizzo told CNBC in an interview. Schultz faced a volley of tough questions from Sen. Bernie Sanders Wednesday about Starbucks' labor and union practices. Nearly 300 Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize under Starbucks Workers United, according to data from the National Labor Relations Board.

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