BREAKING: What's With The Disgruntled Coffee Workers of Park Slope?

I'll have you know that Ozzie's Coffee cares about the people. Per their website, they are 95% free and fair trade. And organic. They are powered by public service ads from Google about the virtues of going solar and micro financing goat herders in Malawi.

But, apparently, as ordained by the National Labor Relations Board, they are also union busters. Or, at least, they fired a barista for his union affiliation. Ozzie's said they fired the dude because he was a complainer and a pain in the ass. 

First Gorilla and now Ozzie's? And wait, wasn't there that brother-sister fight between Cafe Regular and Cafe Martin? What the hell is going on around here? I'm thinking we need a Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins in Center Slope where sanity can reign.

Per the Village Voice courtesy of the Brooklyn Paper via I don't know who...

The shop's owner maintains that the firing had nothing to do with Bauer's union membership but instead took place because he was "constantly complaining to customers and other employees." Apparently Bauer is continuing to stage protests outside of the establishment, which probably won't predispose his former employers to give him his job back.

UPDATE: Key Food Shopping Baskets, Now Less Dirty! Maybe!

Remember that FIPS reader from last week who was grossed out by the scuzzy shopping baskets at Key Food? Well he was compelled to take action!

"Giving the dirty baskets at the 7th Ave. Key Food situation a 2nd thought, I decided it might do more good to complain to the manager than to just bitch about on FIPS.

From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 09:46:06 -0500
To: Information Mailbox<InformationMailbox@MANDELL.COM>
Subject: Shopping baskets

Do you ever clean the plastic shopping baskets? They're really sticky and dirty.

Re: Shopping baskets
Thursday, December 16, 2010 9:49 AM
From: "tranderson@mandell.com" <tranderson@mandell.com>
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: "Ben Mandel" <bamandel@mandell.com>
Thanks for the message and I will direct the stores to clean the baskets and discard any baskets that are beyond their useful life.

Sincerely
Tom Anderson

As you can see I got a reply the same day. Pretty good, huh? Well, I went in tonight and the baskets are still filthy.

But the good news is that they weren't out of Rolling Rock."

Not only did he get a response the same day, he got one 3 MINS LATER. I mean, I'm still not sure that this will actually result in anything, but still: the response time was pretty fucking impressive.

PAVILION PRANKSTER

click to enlarge

Somebody is my fucking hero and I want to get their autograph.

This picture has been floating around facebook and email since noon yesterday. Apparently some disgruntled employee changing the marquis at the Pavilion Movie Theater put up "bed bugs," and then quit or was shit-canned.

If this story is true, this Pavilion employee makes the Jet Blue steward look like Dwight Muthafuckin Schrute.  

I left work EARLY just to see if I could get more flicks of this and ask questions - but by the time I got there, it was already gone, and the ticket clerk got red as soon as I said "bedbugs."  

"No, I'm sorry, the manager busy." 

WHO GIVES A SHIT: Al Di La Garbage?

Most of us are very familiar with Al Di La as *the* spot in town to get a pretty kickass, delish Italian meal. But FIPS reader J. doesn't really give a shit about that anymore. Cause mostly she's just sick and tired of all the disgusting Al di La garbage that's rotting on the street every morn.

Check it:

"I just got a dog and this opened a portal to different parallel universe in Park Slope. It's like it was there the whole time and somehow I never saw it. It's glorious, really! If you've never been to off-leash hours in PP on a weekend morning, just go. Even if you don't have a dog- it's not as creepy as taking a call on your cell at a park, and than realizing your smoke is blowing into the area where the slides are.

Click to read more ...

NY Times To Gorilla Coffee: AYFKMWTS??

Le sigh.

This shit is officially boring me more than babies in bars.

Unsurprisingly, the NYT, you know CAUSE THEY'RE NOT FUCKING MORONS, have moved to dismiss the ridiculous, retarded, spectacularly stupid libel case that Gorilla Coffee is waging against them, as well as their former employees.

They officially filed a motion to dismiss the case, and I'm sure, based on my belief that logic is at least still a teeny tiny factor in these sorts of decisions, it will probably be granted. Here's why:

...through this lawsuit management—while undoubtedly happy that the newspaper published its side of events—seeks to punish the Times for telling the public what the workers were saying. Not surprisingly, neither the state nor the federal constitution nor the law of libel allows the plaintiffs to do that—to use civil litigation to silence newspapers that publish opinions they disagree with.

At this point, Gorilla's only hope for winning me back is to invite me over for a private photography sesh with Taylor-n-Jakey poo. Otherwise, I'm just over it all.

(via Eater)