Teamsters Local 25 Rallies for Fair, Clean and Safe Working Conditions at Starbucks Distributor

State Labor Unions Join Teamsters Local 25 to bring attention to DPI-Mid Atlantic, New England Distributor for all Starbuck Stores

BOSTON—Hundreds of working men and women from some of the state’s largest labor unions joined with Teamsters Local 25 this morning to bring attention to Starbucks Coffee’s sole distributor, DPI-Mid Atlantic. Based in Canton, MA, DPI-Mid Atlantic delivers all bakery, sandwiches and pre-packaged food to Starbucks shops across New England.

“Today should be a wake-up call to Starbucks’ management and customers," Sean M. O’Brien, President & Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 25 said in front of the Boylston Street Boston location. “DPI-Mid Atlantic does not share your values of quality, ethics and responsibility.”

“DPI-Mid Atlantic employees work hard every day to make sure that these products get to your local Starbucks so you can enjoy them. Starbucks and their loyal customers need to understand fully where their coffee beans, and all food products, originate from. Starbucks should demand no less from their vendors than they would from their baristas," O’Brien continued.

Teamsters Local 25 members were joined by leaders and members of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Greater Boston Labor Council, Unite HERE Local 26, SEIU 615, New England Carpenters, business owner Steve Grossman whose family business Grossman Marketing Group has been in Somerville for more than 50 years, and Boston City Council President Michael Ross.

“For too long, DPI-Mid Atlantic management has bullied their employees, forcing them to work in an unsafe and unsanitary environment and then reprimanding those who speak up. No one should feel that their jobs are in jeopardy for demanding safe and clean working conditions. Teamsters Local 25 is proud to stand with our brother and sister labor leaders from across the state and pledge to help DPI-Mid Atlantic employees seek justice," O’Brien continued.

When DPI-Mid Atlantic employees complained to management, and later the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the FDA about the unsanitary working conditions, they were fired or suspended. After complaining to OSHA about unsafe forklifts, battery acid leaks, unsanitary bathrooms, poor lighting, and an expanding rodent population around the dock area, OSHA issued a series of citations and forced the company to address the outstanding problems. Employees at DPI-Mid Atlantic warehouse in Canton have decided to seek union representation to improve the unsafe and unsanitary working conditions, a substandard healthcare plan and inferior wages.

Founded in 1903, Local 25 is the largest Teamsters? union in New England, representing more than 11,000 men and women throughout Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. More information can be found at teamsterslocal25.com.

Sean M. O’Brien, President & Principal Officer, Teamsters Local 25

Hundreds gathered today in front of Starbucks on Bolyston Street in Boston to protest its distributor, DPI-Mid Atlantic.