Jaz Brisack

{{Infobox person

| name = Jaz Brisack

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1997|8|11}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education = University of Mississippi (BA)
Wadham College, Oxford (MS)

{{Infobox|child=yes

| label1 = Honors thesis

| data1 = [https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1143/ The Wise Women of Oxford] (May 2019)}}

| employer = Starbucks
Service Employees International Union

| known_for = Workers' rights activism
Unionizing Starbucks Buffalo, New York

}}

Jaz Brisack{{Cite web|title=Jaz Brisack - Rhodes Trust|url=https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholars/rhodes-scholars-class-of-2019/jaz-brisack/|access-date=February 14, 2022|website=Rhodes House - Home of The Rhodes Scholarships|language=en|archive-date=February 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213064134/https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholars/rhodes-scholars-class-of-2019/jaz-brisack/|url-status=live}} (born August 11, 1997) is an American union organizer, author, and barista. They are known for leading unionizing efforts at Starbucks, namely at a Buffalo, New York store.

Early life and education

Brisack was born in Texas in 1997.{{Cite magazine |last=Vesoulis |first=Abby |date=11 May 2022 |title=Barista Jaz Brisack Took on Starbucks—and Won |magazine=Time |url=https://time.com/6174931/jaz-brisack-2/ |access-date=28 May 2022}} They were homeschooled in Alcoa, Tennessee, where they grew up.{{Cite news |last=Jaffe |first=Greg |date=February 12, 2022 |title=A Rhodes Scholar barista and the fight to unionize Starbucks |language=en |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/02/12/rhodes-scholar-barista-fight-unionize-starbucks/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213165713/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/02/12/rhodes-scholar-barista-fight-unionize-starbucks/ |archive-date=February 13, 2022}} Their family were conservative Democrats, and they became interested in activism early in their life.{{Cite news |last=Alsup |first=Blake |date=28 November 2018 |title=Student activist named first UM female Rhodes Scholar |work=The Daily Mississippian |url=https://thedmonline.com/jaz-brisack/ |access-date=28 May 2022}} At 16, they worked as a dishwasher at Panera Bread where they became familiar with their coworkers’ struggles as low-paid frontline employees in harsh working conditions.{{Cite web |last=Gibson |first=Kate |date=9 April 2022 |title=Meet the barista and Rhodes Scholar helping lead the fight to unionize Starbucks |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/starbucks-union-jaz-brisack/ |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Mullan |first=Dillon |date=30 November 2018 |title=Mississippi Rhodes Scholar Jaz Brisack shares passion for labor organizing in the South |work=Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal |url=https://www.djournal.com/news/mississippi-rhodes-scholar-jaz-brisack-shares-passion-for-labor-organizing-in-the-south/article_905a7ff2-4b11-5522-8d82-54e808ffeaaf.html |access-date=28 May 2022}} They first developed an interest in labor unions there.

They attended the University of Mississippi until 2019, majoring in Public Policy, Journalism, and English. Here they received a Harry S. Truman Scholarship, and were the first non-male at the university to be awarded with a Rhodes Scholarship.{{Cite news |date=16 April 2018 |title=Ole Miss student wins top scholarship for public policy work |work=WREG-TV |agency=The Associated Press |url=https://wreg.com/news/ole-miss-student-wins-top-scholarship-for-public-policy-work/ |access-date=28 May 2022}} They were also a student of the university's honors program, the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Edwin B. |date=13 April 2018 |title=Jaz Brisack Named UM's 15th Truman Scholar |work=Ole Miss News |publisher=University of Mississippi |url=https://news.olemiss.edu/jaz-brisack-named-ums-15th-truman-scholar/ |access-date=28 May 2022}} Brisack finished their typically two-year scholarship at the Wadham College, Oxford in one year with a Master of Science in intellectual history. They were previously an op-ed writer for The Daily Mississippian, a student newspaper.{{Cite news |last=Morgan |first=Thomas |date=7 October 2019 |title=The Supreme Court has a duty to protect local queer rights |work=The Daily Mississippian |url=https://thedmonline.com/the-supreme-court-has-a-duty-to-protect-local-queer-rights/ |access-date=28 May 2022 |quote=Jaz Brisack, a former op-ed writer for the DM...}}

Career and activism

= 2016 to 2019 =

Brisack started their career in 2016 working as a teacher-advisor for the Sunflower Freedom Project,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=November 20, 2018|title=Brisack Makes History as UM's First Female Rhodes Scholar|url=https://news.olemiss.edu/brisack-makes-history-ums-first-female-rhodes-scholar/|access-date=February 15, 2022|website=Ole Miss News|language=en-US|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215063637/https://news.olemiss.edu/brisack-makes-history-ums-first-female-rhodes-scholar/|url-status=live}} and in 2017 working part-time in a campaign with United Auto Workers to unionize a Nissan factory in Canton, Mississippi. Nissan was criticized for one of the "nastiest" union busting efforts in history. The union push was unsuccessful.{{Cite web|last=Elk|first=Mike|date=August 1, 2017|title=Nissan attacked for one of 'nastiest anti-union campaigns' in modern US history|url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/01/nissan-mississippi-union-vote|access-date=February 14, 2022|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214172413/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/01/nissan-mississippi-union-vote|url-status=live}} They also worked to help defend Jackson Women's Health Organization. They say their work is inspired by Eugene V. Debs and Mary Harris Jones.

In 2018, one of Brisack's papers, Organizing Unions as Social Policy, was published in the Global Encyclopedia of Public Policy and Public Administration.{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1048675068|title=Global Encyclopedia of Public Policy and Public Administration.|publisher=Springer|others=Ali Farazmand|year=2018|isbn=978-3-319-20929-6|location=New York|oclc=1048675068|access-date=February 15, 2022|archive-date=February 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224195327/https://www.worldcat.org/title/global-encyclopedia-of-public-policy-and-public-administration/oclc/1048675068|url-status=live}} They also won an award at the Southern Literary Festival in Mississippi.{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Edwin B.|date=April 13, 2018|title=Jaz Brisack Named UM's 15th Truman Scholar|url=https://news.olemiss.edu/jaz-brisack-named-ums-15th-truman-scholar/|access-date=February 15, 2022|website=Ole Miss News|language=en-US|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215151248/https://news.olemiss.edu/jaz-brisack-named-ums-15th-truman-scholar/|url-status=live}} In 2019, Brisack relocated to Buffalo, New York, following Richard Bensinger, whom they had worked with on Nissan unionizing, to start a union organizing campaign at SPoT Coffee.{{Cite web|last=Zremski|first=Jerry|date=September 2, 2019|title=AFL-CIO chief sees Spot Coffee unionization as part of a trend|url=https://buffalonews.com/news/local/afl-cio-chief-sees-spot-coffee-unionization-as-part-of-a-trend/article_682bf7b4-e427-59f8-bd05-163055198176.html|access-date=February 14, 2022|website=The Buffalo News|language=en|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214182926/https://buffalonews.com/news/local/afl-cio-chief-sees-spot-coffee-unionization-as-part-of-a-trend/article_682bf7b4-e427-59f8-bd05-163055198176.html|url-status=live}} The campaign at SPoT was ultimately successful.{{Cite web |last1=Durbin |first1=Dee-Ann |last2=Thompson |first2=Carolyn |date=November 9, 2019 |title=Rare Starbucks union vote set to begin in Buffalo |url=https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-union-strike-business-pandemic-labor-6f9a1f9a53fc874ebdb6438df1f4223f |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214194248/https://apnews.com/article/starbucks-union-strike-business-pandemic-labor-6f9a1f9a53fc874ebdb6438df1f4223f |archive-date=February 14, 2022 |access-date=February 14, 2022 |website=The Associated Press |language=en-US}}

= Starbucks (2020–22) =

{{See also|Starbucks Workers United|Criticism of Starbucks#Labor issues and union bustin}}In 2020, Brisack joined the Elmwood Avenue Starbucks as a barista. Eight months into working there, in July 2021, Starbucks faced a labor shortage amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Brisack recalled thinking it was "now or never," and launched a then-secret campaign with Bensinger and Workers United to unionize Starbucks.{{Cite web|last=Jamieson|first=Dave|date=December 7, 2021|title=Starbucks Workers Hope To Form The Chain's First U.S. Union In Buffalo|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/starbucks-union-buffalo-new-york_n_61aeb910e4b028ce3cfdfd4f|access-date=February 14, 2022|website=HuffPost|language=en|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214115722/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/starbucks-union-buffalo-new-york_n_61aeb910e4b028ce3cfdfd4f|url-status=live}} Workers United paid Brisack $68,884 in 2021 and $67,485 in 2022, which they earned in addition to their Starbuck's income.{{cite web |last1=Labor Union News |title=Analysis: Workers United paid nearly $2.5 million to organizers, "salts" and activists at Starbucks |url=https://laborunionnews.substack.com/p/analysis-workers-united-paid-nearly |website=LaborUnionNews.com |date=April 25, 2023 |access-date=May 22, 2023}}

In late August 2021, Brisack and 48 other baristas in the Buffalo area wrote a letter to Kevin Johnson, Starbucks chief executive officer, informing the company of their intent to form a union. The Elmwood store counted its votes on December 9, 2021{{Cite news |last=Selyukh |first=Alina |date=December 9, 2021 |title=Starbucks workers form their 1st union in the U.S. in a big win for labor |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/12/09/1062150045/starbucks-first-union-buffalo-new-york |url-status=live |access-date=February 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214065500/https://www.npr.org/2021/12/09/1062150045/starbucks-first-union-buffalo-new-york |archive-date=February 14, 2022}} and on December 17, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board certified its union,{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=Carolyn|date=December 17, 2021|title=Labor board certifies first union at a US Starbucks store|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/union-objects-results-starbucks-unionization-votes-81817524|access-date=February 14, 2022|website=ABC News|language=en|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214194248/https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/union-objects-results-starbucks-unionization-votes-81817524|url-status=live}} making it the first unionized Starbucks branch in the USA.'Weekend profile: Jaz Brisack, the 25-year-old taking on Starbucks', The Economist (4 March 2023). Three weeks later, Brisack and the other Elmwood baristas organized a strike after a bargaining meeting regarding protections for workers from the COVID-19 Omicron variant had been unsuccessful. Cassie Fleischer, another organizer and union member at the Elmwood store, told The Washington Post that all of the union's requests were denied, including that the company pay "out-of-pocket costs on coronavirus tests".

When asked by their coworkers if they had joined the store with purpose of starting a union, Brisack clarified that there wasn't a "grand scheme", and that they would try to start a union anywhere they worked. Brisack was also employed by Service Employees International Union (parent union of Workers United) at the time.

Brisack told the press, "We’ve said from Day One that all we had to do was win one store," and said they recognized that to organize a "great" contract with Starbucks, they would need to unionize additional Starbucks stores around the country, and started a grassroots organizing campaign using social media. The campaign garnered the support of the Democratic Socialists of America,{{Cite web|last=Chun|first=Max|date=February 12, 2022|title=Union City: With two Santa Cruz Starbucks locations moving to unionize and more on the way, why are we an epicenter of organizing?|url=https://lookout.co/santacruz/civic-life/story/2022-02-12/starbucks-unionizing-why-santa-cruz-epicenter-organizing|access-date=February 14, 2022|website=Lookout Local Santa Cruz|language=en-US|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214194250/https://lookout.co/santacruz/civic-life/story/2022-02-12/starbucks-unionizing-why-santa-cruz-epicenter-organizing|url-status=live}} Senator Bernie Sanders, House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and a member of Seattle, Washington's city council, where Starbucks is headquartered, Kshama Sawant.{{Cite web|last=Taylor|first=Sarah Grace|date=February 8, 2022|title=Seattle City Council spars over, passes Starbucks union resolution|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-city-council-spars-over-passes-starbucks-union-resolution/|access-date=February 14, 2022|website=The Seattle Times|language=en-US|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214194248/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-city-council-spars-over-passes-starbucks-union-resolution/|url-status=live}} As of January 14, 2022, 15 stores had filed for union elections;{{Cite news |last=Scheiber |first=Noam |author-link=Noam Schreiber |date=January 14, 2022 |title=Taking On Starbucks, Inspired by Bernie Sanders |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/business/economy/starbucks-union.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114132651/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/business/economy/starbucks-union.html |archive-date=January 14, 2022 |access-date=February 14, 2022 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} by May 11, 2022, that number reached at least 170; and by March 2023 over 250 Starbucks cafes had unionized.

Brisack has accused Starbucks of union busting, and pointed to its firing of seven unionizing workers in Memphis, Tennessee as proof, saying "They can’t do this and be the company they say they are." On March 1, 2023, Starbucks was found to have violated labour-laws on hundreds of counts by an administrative judge at the National Labour Relations Board. The company was at the time expected to appeal that decision and has denied the allegations that it is union busting,{{Cite web |last=Zomorodi |first=Manoush |date=February 4, 2022 |title=TED Radio hour: Jess Kutch: Can unions address the changing needs of workers today? |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/02/04/1078044162/jess-kutch-can-unions-address-the-changing-needs-of-workers-today |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214025524/https://www.npr.org/2022/02/04/1078044162/jess-kutch-can-unions-address-the-changing-needs-of-workers-today |archive-date=February 14, 2022 |access-date=February 14, 2022 |website=NPR |language=en}} and claims that the firings were for violations of its security rules. Starbucks has said "Claims of union busting are categorically false. We want our partners to be informed and make the best decisions for themselves".

= Tesla (2022–) =

Brisack left Starbucks in September 2022, claiming to have been forced out. They then assisted a Tesla organizing committee at a factory in Buffalo where, as of March 2023, they were also reported to be organizing workers.

Jaz Brisack

Early life and education

Career and activism

= 2016 to 2019 =

= Starbucks (2020–22) =

= Tesla (2022–) =

See also

References

Further reading