CROSS THE FINISH LINE, NOT THE PICKET LINE!

Boston DSA, in partnership with Starbucks Workers United (SBWU), is holding a 5k fun run to promote SBWU's strike. The planners of the strike specifically invited members of the community to be involved in their strike, and that includes you! Our run will encourage the brave workers to maintain their strike, it will remind our friends and neighbors to not buy ANY Starbucks product until the strike is over, and it will make this strike impossible to ignore.

You do not need to be a DSA or SBWU member to participate, all are welcome!

Details:

We're meeting at 259 Centre St in Newton (near Brighton)

We will be starting at the Starbucks at 259 Centre St, taking a right to Charlesbank St, then crossing the bridge at St. James St, and running down Washington St to the Starbucks at 470 Washington St, and going back the way we came. We will have volunteers guiding the run along the route.

** See the exact route here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/f9ngFwHsjB4mKNYq5 **

Please don't run through the Centre St / Washington St intersection, affectionately named the Newton Supercollider

During the run, we will cheer on the folks at the picket line, do strike chants, and show passersby that we support the strike even though we are not in the union.

All you need to bring is appropriately warm clothes, water if you need it, and good vibes 😎

Runners will receive a race bib and a commemorative button to mark their support for SBWU and as recognition for completing the run.

This is NOT going to be a timed race. We will have bibs for you but there will not be an RFID chip attached. Likewise, the roads will NOT be blocked for this run. Nobody is going to be setting their PR at this event, and please please be safe on this run.

There will be a bag drop at the starting location's picket line, but we cannot be held responsible for lost items.

How to help:

Normalizing the strike by participating in this run is already amazing! If you'd like to go above and beyond:

• Consider donating to the SBWU Strike Fund. Workers are forgoing their paychecks for an indeterminate amount of time in order to strike for fair wages. They need our help to ensure they have the food and necessities to continue their fight.
• If you haven't already, make sure to sign the No Contract, No Coffee pledge to tell Starbucks you will not buy ANY Starbucks product until the strike is over.
• Tell your friends about the strike, why supporting Starbucks workers is important to you, and if they like running consider referring them to this event 👀

The story:

Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) formed over 5 years ago and, despite being legally recognized, corporate has refused to negotiate a fair and balanced contract with the union.

In response, unionized stores are going on strike! Just in time for the holidays, SBWU is refusing to go to work until they get the fair wages and dignity they deserve.

This is a huge nationwide strike, happening at over 650 unionized Starbucks and going indefinitely until a contract is agreed upon. This will be the largest contract sought by the labor movement in over 100 years! This fight goes far beyond Starbucks. A victory for SBWU will be nothing less than historic and embolden ordinary Americans all over the country. It will encourage other baristas to unionize their stores and form worker cooperatives. It will prove to the C-suite executives that fast food workers should unionize despite their dismissive claims that it cannot be done. And it will show all people who work for a living, who cannot hire and fire, that a better world is possible if we work together to make our shared hopes a reality.

We're meeting at 259 Centre St in Newton (near Brighton)

** See the exact route here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/f9ngFwHsjB4mKNYq5 **