To clarify, Starbucks does not give its workers "free stock." We have to pay for that, and on $7.50, while supporting ourselves, most of us cannot afford that. I've applied for the grants for college and was denied... and free drinks and a markout will not pay my rent at the end of the month. We aren't saying that independent coffee shops are any better or worse. We work at Starbucks. We want to improve our working conditions there. It is our legal right to collectively bargain and we are going to exercise that right.