[Zhang Fei]

[Unions work to get wage increases, and for more/higher benefits. All of that makes things a lot more expensive for consumers. But, unions and union members don’t care, as long as they get theirs, and what they also get is the higher prices that they force on every company and stores and services. But, they don’t think about that. It’s sheer ignorance.]

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They know what they’re doing. It’s thuggery with the connivance of the state. Mafia thugs have to carry out their shakedowns not just with threats of violence, but actual violence as an example to those who would resist. Union thugs never have to get their hands dirty - the state threatens to close a business down if it does not submit. The beauty of state coercion is that Starbucks could in theory be forced to operate the location at a loss, subsidized by the rest. Whereas the Mafia doesn’t have the reach to follow business owners everywhere they operate.

[Bookshelf]

I still recall my first cup of coffee at Starbucks. I am an Ethiopian fanatic. Ordered Ethiopian, got a cup. It was so burnt I couldn’t tell what I was drinking. I marched out of the place, got a sign that read, “Starbucks unfair to coffee drinkers.”