Last week, the Grand Rapids Starbucks Workers Union announced that Starbucks fired a union organizer here in Grand Rapids. The union has said that the firing was an example of "an illegal anti-union firing" wherein the company found a reason--allegedly unrelated to the union organizing effort--to fire the organizer. Starbucks has engaged in similar practices elsewhere in the United States and in Spain, despite being forced to reinstate two workers that were fired for union organizing in 2006.

However, Starbucks is far from being the only company that acts aggressively to prevent the formation of unions at its stores. A new report by the International Trade Union Confederation has found that the United States has a "poor and worsening record" on workers rights. The report points out that large sections of the workforce in the United States--agricultural workers, many public sector workers, domestic workers, supervisors, and independent contractors--are not allowed to organize under US law.

Similarly, the report finds that anti-union activity by is rampant. The report says that most workers in the private sector seeking to form unions face "extreme pressure" from employers. This includes forcing employees to view anti-union propaganda and threatening workers with company closures if they form unions. Moreover, 82% of employers hire companies that specialize in combating union organizing efforts. Such companies constitute a $4 billion industry in the United States.

The government is also not of much help to union organizers, with the Bush administration's Labor Department spending only $26 per employer on enforcement issues while oversight of trade union activities is done at a cost of $2,600 per union.