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starbucks union-busting
The Starbucks Ruling Proves That Workers Can Only Rely on Their Own Power
You can shut the companies down because you do the work; all the rest of labor’s power flows from that.
Jun 15, 2024
In February, Starbucks finally agreed to sit down at the bargaining table with their workers’ union. They agreed to this not out of the goodness of their shriveled heart, but after being dragged by their hair, kicking and screaming and union busting the whole time. They agreed to bargain after the union spent two years organizing hundreds of stores, and filed hundreds of unfair labor practice charges against the company, and did strikes all over the country, and got Bernie Sanders to berate Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in front of a congressional subcommittee.
Starbucks did their absolute utmost to illegally fire and intimidate and retaliate against workers who were organizing, and then to stubbornly refuse to bargain in good faith with those who did, and to lie wildly about all of it the whole time. Thousands of Starbucks workers and thousands of their allies across the country had to fight and claw for months and years to get this $90 billion company just to sit down and begin negotiating, as they are required to by law.
That was all just to get to the bargaining table. I always chuckle now when I read the periodic joint statements released by Starbucks and the union, Workers United, because they all sound like the Hatfields and McCoys being forced at gunpoint to shuffle uncomfortably in front of the camera and say, “We continue to make good progress in this mutually agreed upon process.” The fact is that if Starbucks could purchase a magic wand for $50 million that would cause all of their company’s union members to catch long Covid and resign and allow the union to die, they surely would. They were brought to this point by the power of organized labor, and nothing less.
It only took a few years of the NLRB actually enforcing existing labor law for much of corporate America to decide that they are willing to throw the entire post-New Deal labor peace framework in the trash in order to stop it.
Even while Starbucks has been engaged in this, ahem, good faith bargaining, their case seeking to restrict the power of the National Labor Relations Board has been winding its way through the courts. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled in Starbucks’ favor, in a case where the company complained that the NLRB’s demand that they reinstate seven workers in Memphis who were illegally fired for organizing was made according to an unduly burdensome standard. The ruling will restrict the ability of the NLRB, which, under Jennifer Abruzzo’s leadership during the Biden administration, has been an aggressive advocate of workers’ rights, to hold companies responsible for their retaliations against workers, which are so common and numerous that 99% of them never make the news.
I am not here to play legal analyst, except to point out (as many actual legal scholars will as well) that rulings like this are really political judgments on what the proper balance of power between workers and businesses are, not some sort of unbiased judgment flowing from a perusal of hallowed heavenly law. The Supreme Court may soon make things even worse for the NLRB thanks to more corporate-funded lawsuits attacking the agency’s power, which I wrote a bit about here. It only took a few years of the NLRB actually enforcing existing labor law for much of corporate America to decide that they are willing to throw the entire post-New Deal labor peace framework in the trash in order to stop it. The Starbucks case this week was only an appetizer. Gird yourself for worse.
Companies are tigers in cages. You can lock them in there and pet them and feed them for years, but let them out for one minute and they will eat you. That’s it.
Mostly, Thursday’s ruling, and everything that led up to it, is a fantastic illustration of a point that is very basic but that it is important to name and hold up and repeat at regular intervals, because it is always in danger of being obscured: Power is the only thing that gets workers under capitalism anything. Here we sit with an encyclopedia’s worth of labor law and 150 years of industrial relations history around us, and none of it means a damn thing. Companies would throw it all in the fire at the earliest opportunity, were such a thing to become politically possible. If you are a working person and you want fair wages and decent working conditions and a fair share of what your company produces and protections from exploitative treatment, the only way to get those things is to come together with your coworkers and exercise your collective power to withhold your labor. You can shut the companies down because you do the work. That is your power. All the rest of labor’s power flows from that. All the wage increases and workplace safety regulations and favorable NLRB rulings and pro-union politicians who will come sit on stage at the rallies exist only due to organizing and being willing to strike. Everything else can go away, but those things can’t. The ability to exercise that power resides exclusively in the hands of the workers. That is the seed from which the entirety of organized labor has grown.
This is one reason why the Starbucks Workers United are so admirable. Starting with nothing, they organized one store, and then another, and then dozens, and then hundreds, and they made a lot of noise in the media, and they pulled in their political allies, and they struck, and they built up such a wall of pressure that the company was finally forced to listen to them. Everything they have was won with labor power. Starbucks, the famously progressive company, tried to squash them at every turn, but wasn’t able to. But if conditions change, or if the union’s will to power flags, the company would jump right back up and try to squash them again. There is no such thing as permanent labor peace. Companies are tigers in cages. You can lock them in there and pet them and feed them for years, but let them out for one minute and they will eat you. That’s it.
It may sound weird to say, but I find the plainness of this dynamic comforting. There is no need for anxiety. All of the questions are answered up front. Will my company treat me fairly? No. Will the boss do the right thing and look out for us? No. Now that we have a union, can we take it easy? No. Now that we have a contract, can we assume the company will follow it? No. Won’t the company follow the laws that protect workers? No. Won’t the regulators and the courts enforce the laws that protect workers? No. Won’t the elected officials stand up on our behalf? No. Your employer will hold you down and drown you in a pool of the lowest possible wages unless you use your collective power to prevent that from happening. Better take care of yourselves, together.
There will be times and places when things will go workers’ way, and that’s nice. There will sometimes be nice bosses and supportive politicians and Jennifer Abruzzos at the NLRB, and that’s something to be enjoyed. But none of that, I promise you, lasts forever under capitalism. The pendulum will swing. Right-wing courts will wipe away your legal protections and greedy investors will install a cruel boss and racist voters will boot the friendly Congressman. No need to cry when it happens. We know it will happen. And we know, most importantly, that we still hold in our hands the power of our own labor. The one thing they can’t take away. We do the work. If they won’t do the right thing, we won’t work. And upon that foundation, we can build the whole thing over again.
Hamilton Nolan is the author of the book The Hammer: Power, Inequality, and the Struggle for the Soul of Labor. This piece is reprinted from his publication How Things Work.
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Customers, Allies Lead 'Starbucks Solidarity' Day to Support Workers
A New York City organizer said that "we're out here using the visibility we have to help Starbucks customers and people that like the company know that the company is preventing the workers from fighting for better pay and working conditions."
Aug 07, 2023
Starbucks customers and labor rights advocates across the United States on Monday led a day of action targeting locations of the coffee chain where employees have not yet joined the more than 8,500 workers who have formed unions at over 340 stores.
"We're asking Starbucks customers and allies to choose a nonunion store to support workers in their communities," explains the Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) website. "Adopting a store simply means holding a small flyering action to engage customers and passersby in the campaign through in-person connections."
Monday "is just the first of a series of national days of action to activate customers and allies to hold Starbucks accountable and demand the company lives up to their progressive values," the site adds. "Together, we'll send the message that we won't let up until Starbucks quits union-busting and starts respecting worker rights!"
Since workers at a Starbucks in New York state formed the coffee giant's first U.S. union in December 2021, the Seattle-based company has been repeatedly accused of illegal union-busting. Flyers being passed out at stores on Monday state that "Starbucks has broken labor law over 200 times."
SBWU asserted on social media that "the public deserves to know what's really going into the making of their daily sip."
Members of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO and Writers Guild of America (WGA), East were among those armed with flyers and posters outside U.S. Starbucks locations.
According to an ABC affiliate in New York City:
In the middle of the wet Monday morning commute, there was a line outside of one Midtown Starbucks, not for coffee, but for a show of support.
"We're out here using the visibility we have to help Starbucks customers and people that like the company know that the company is preventing the workers from fighting for better pay and working conditions," said Alex Iwinski, WGA union council member.
Meanwhile, New Yorker Mike Cassaday wrote on social media that he was reminding Starbucks customers in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood "that the company isn't as progressive as it claims to be."
The Chicago Federation of Labor had people at Millennium Station early Monday "educating folks about the fight for fair wages and working conditions at Starbucks!" the group said, adding that "management's union-busting is relentless and egregious."
Demonstrators used the hashtag #StarbucksSolidarity to share updates online, including from communities in Florida, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Washington state.
"We're in Seattle with Starbucks Workers United, union partners, and Starbucks customers telling Starbucks we won't accept their union-busting anymore!" declared Fight for $15. "By unleashing one of the most aggressive union-busting campaigns in modern history, Starbucks has shown what they think of the workers who make the company run."
So far, none of the workers who have successfully formed unions at hundreds of U.S. Starbucks have been able to finalize a contract with the company.
The Minnesota AFL-CIO on Monday thanked "everyone who showed up in St. Paul this morning to talk with customers about why it's long overdue for Starbucks to negotiate a contract with Starbucks Workers United."
The Starbucks day of action comes amid a wave of labor events throughout the summer, from the ongoing actor and writer strikes to practice pickets by United Parcel Service workers who were preparing for a historic walkout before UPS finally struck a deal with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters late last month.
Such action is set to continue on the West Coast with a 24-hour strike planned for Tuesday. The Los Angeles Times reported that "SEIU Local 721, a union representing county and city employees across Southern California, said that more than 11,000 Los Angeles city workers will participate, including sanitation workers, heavy-duty mechanics, traffic officers, and engineers."
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Workers at World's Largest Starbucks in Chicago Announce Union Drive
"We are tired of seeing our coworkers burnt out, bullied, and mistreated every day," said an operations lead at the roastery. "We've tried expressing this to management, and we've been ignored and degraded."
Jul 14, 2023
Workers at the world's largest Starbucks in Chicago filed for a union election on Friday, joining more than 8,500 of the coffee chain's "partners" at over 330 locations across the United States who are fighting for the right to organize and contracts.
"We are tired of seeing our coworkers burnt out, bullied, and mistreated every day. I love my job, I love my coworkers, and I love the people we serve. I know we all deserve to experience the roastery the way it should be—as a space where everyone feels welcome, appreciated, and valued," said Jamie Williamson, operations lead at the Illinois store, in a statement.
"We've tried expressing this to management, and we've been ignored and degraded," Williamson added. "The only people we can rely on are our fellow partners. Now, we want to turn that trust into power to change the roastery for the better."
The Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Chicago takes up 35,000 square feet on the city's Magnificent Mile. The other two North American roasteries, in Seattle and New York City, both won their union elections last year—though none of the hundreds of newly formed labor groups nationwide have secured a contract with the company yet.
"The prospective bargaining unit includes about 230 baristas and mixologists who serve elaborate coffee-based drinks and cocktails, bakers who make pastries in-house, and operations leads who work in retail and customer service at the five-story caffeine emporium," according to the Chicago Tribune. "People who work roasting coffee at the Roastery are not retail employees and are not included in the unit."
Barista and mixologist Kyra Supnet said in a statement that "yes, we are the largest Starbucks with the largest number of partners that work here. Getting everyone together seemed impossible at first, but when you zoom out and see the bigger picture—you realize that everyone shares the same issues."
"Everyone in the space is equally as frustrated and some even more," Supnet continued. "But together we will stand together and become one voice that management can't ignore for much longer."
The Seattle-based company, which has over 32,000 stores across 80 countries, has come under fire from its workers, labor rights advocates, federal lawmakers, and the National Labor Relations Board for how it has responded to union drives in the United States since the first successful vote to unionize at a Buffalo, New York location in December 2021.
Starbucks spokesperson Andrew Trull told the Tribune that the company remains "committed to supporting our Chicago roastery partners."
"Our partners and their safety are core to our operation,” Trull said. "We work with urgency to address any reported issues that may impact the well-being of our partners and the experience we offer at our Chicago roastery."
The newspaper noted that "Starbucks has been found in violation [of] national labor law numerous times by administrative law judges over the course of the campaign, including in Chicago, where a judge found the coffee giant had illegally fired a Hyde Park barista who led the union campaign at his store and threatened workers at two cafes over their union activity. Starbucks is appealing that ruling; the coffee giant has generally denied accusations and findings of lawbreaking."
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Hundreds of Progressive Groups Back Starbucks Union Push as New CEO Arrives
"Instead of continuing on the current path Starbucks has taken, we urge you to create and build a healthy working relationship with unionized partners."
Apr 11, 2023
A progressive coalition representing 62 million people and nearly 500 member organizations on Tuesday urged new Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan to end the coffee giant's hostility toward unioned workers and organizers across the United States.
Since workers in Buffalo, New York won a historic election to form Starbucks' first U.S. union in December 2021, employees at hundreds of locations throughout the nation have started organizing—and have been met with union-busting tactics from the company.
Narasimhan took over for former CEO Howard Schultz late last month, just before Schultz—facing a subpoena threat—testified before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Ahead of Schultz's testimony, the HELP Committee released a report pointing to dozens of National Labor Relations Board complaints against Starbucks and explaining that "though the coffee giant claims they are a 'progressive' company, there is mounting evidence that the $113 billion-dollar company's anti-union efforts include a pattern of flagrant violations of federal labor law."
In their Tuesday letter, civil rights, environmental, gender justice, and labor groups wrote to Narasimhan, "It's our hope that you uphold Starbucks' reputation as an inclusive and welcoming third place for the community by taking this opportunity to redefine the company's relationship with Starbucks partners working in cafes, reserve stores, and roasteries across the country."
"While our organizations represent many facets of the progressive movement, we know our fights are inextricably linked to that of Starbucks Workers United."
"We stand by workers exercising their fundamental and constitutional right to form a union," the progressive coalition emphasized. "Freedom of association is a constitutional right, and by joining together to bargain collectively with employers, unions give workers the opportunity to have their voices heard and help make decisions to make meaningful changes in their workplaces."
"Unions are good for workers, businesses, our economy, and our democracy," the coalition continued. "They are vehicles that advance equity across class, race, sexual orientation, gender, and immigration status. While our organizations represent many facets of the progressive movement, we know our fights are inextricably linked to that of Starbucks Workers United. We cannot have justice—racial, gender, immigrant, climate—without economic justice."
The letter concludes by highlighting how Narasimhan can chart a new path: "Instead of continuing on the current path Starbucks has taken, we urge you to create and build a healthy working relationship with unionized partners. We encourage you to affirm workers' legal right to organize a union by signing the fair elections principles and by committing to bargain in good faith with over 7,500 workers who have formed Starbucks Workers United."
Signatories include the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, Communications Workers of America, Community Change Action, Center for Popular Democracy, Greenpeace, MoveOn, National Education Association, People's Action, Public Citizen, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Sierra Club, Sunrise Movement, UltraViolet, United We Dream, and Women's March.
"Starbucks has repeatedly, shamelessly, and illegally stood in the way of partners who are demanding a voice in their workplace and a strong contract to build a better future for themselves and their families," said SEIU international president Mary Kay Henry. "Narasimhan has an opportunity to stop the company's unprecedented, unpopular campaign of union-busting and instead partner with its workers and their union to build a Starbucks that truly lives up to its stated progressive values."
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler pointed out that "Starbucks has always referred to its employees as partners" and "under new leadership, the company now has the chance to treat its workers like partners."
Community Change president Dorian Warren noted that Narasimhan could "set a powerful example for corporate America by committing to bargain in good faith with the thousands of workers who make his company's success possible."
"The importance of organizing can never be overstated," Warren added. "We are proud to support the Starbucks workers who are forming unions, and asking for higher wages, better benefits, and more control over their workplace conditions. We cannot forget that unions are one of the most important tools we have to protect and strengthen our democracy and build equity for all."
Group leaders also stressed that they represent millions of members and massive movements that support unionization efforts at Starbucks.
"Women's March unites with Starbucks workers—a workforce that is more than 70% women and women of color—as they organize tirelessly to take on the challenges they face in their workplace," said executive director Rachel Carmona. "This is not just a matter of fairness and justice—but a women's rights issue."
MoveOn executive director Rahna Epting declared that "Starbucks' record to date on unions has been distasteful, disrespectful, and disingenuous."
"Millions of members of MoveOn support workers' rights and want Starbucks to do right by the people who work for your company," she told the new CEO. "Your partners should be able to exercise their rights to freely and fairly organize and negotiate over their working conditions without fear of retaliation."
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'We Are Starbucks': Workers Strike Nationwide Ahead of Shareholder Meeting
"Instead of celebrating the law-breaking former CEO hell-bent on silencing us, Starbucks should respect our right to organize and meet us at the bargaining table," said one Seattle barista and member of Starbucks Workers United.
Mar 22, 2023
Amid an ongoing unionization wave, Starbucks workers across the United States are holding a national day of action on Wednesday to demand a living wage, consistent scheduling, safe working conditions, and the right to organize free from fear and intimidation.
Baristas plan to strike at more than 100 of the coffee giant's shops from coast to coast, including at cafes in Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Memphis, and other cities. In Seattle, where Starbucks was founded and is headquartered, a major protest is planned—one day before shareholders vote on an assessment of workers' rights at the corporation's annual meeting.
At 12:00 pm PT, workers will march outside Starbucks' headquarters, declaring that the company's illegal union-busting won't stop their fight for higher wages, better benefits, and democratic workplaces.
Since December 2021, when baristas in Buffalo made history by forming the first unionized Starbucks in the U.S., more than 7,500 workers at over 280 of the coffee chain's locations nationwide have voted to unionize. Organizers have won more than 80% of their campaigns despite the company's unlawful intimidation and retaliation tactics.
According to Starbucks Workers United:
In this same time period, the NLRB's [National Labor Relations Board] regional offices have issued more than 80 official complaints against Starbucks, prosecuting the company for over 1,400 specific alleged violations of federal labor law, including accusations that former CEO Howard Schultz personally threatened a worker who expressed support for organizing.
To date, NLRB administrative law judges have issued nine decisions, eight of which collectively found that the company has committed 130 violations, including illegally monitoring and firing organizers, calling the police on workers, and outright closing a store that recently attempted to organize.
Due to Starbucks' refusal to bargain in good faith, none of the locations that voted to unionize have reached a contract agreement.
With his unlawful crackdown on organizing coming under increased scrutiny, Schultz moved up his resignation from April 1 to March 20. Schultz is still scheduled to testify at next Wednesday's hearing convened by Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. He only agreed to do so under threat of subpoena.
Sarah Pappin, a Seattle Starbucks worker and member of Starbucks Workers United, said Wednesday in a statement: "Baristas like me are the ones who keep our stores running. We remember our customers' regular orders, make the lattes, clean up spills, and are often the bright spot of our customers' days. We are the heart and soul of Starbucks."
"Instead of celebrating the law-breaking former CEO hell-bent on silencing us, Starbucks should respect our right to organize and meet us at the bargaining table," said Pappin. "We are Starbucks, and we deserve better."
Starbucks Workers United said that "Wednesday's day of action will also serve to welcome the company's new chief executive, Laxman Narasimhan, and send him a message that the transition in the C-suite provides an opportunity for the company to stop its unprecedented campaign of union-busting and instead partner with its workers and our union to build a company that truly lives up to its stated progressive values."
Earlier this month, Starbucks Workers United sent a letter to shareholders urging them to vote for a third-party evaluation of Starbucks' purported commitment to affirming workers' rights, arguing that the corporation's anti-union actions are inconsistent with its International Labor Organization commitments.
According to the union, "Two proxy advisory firms, International Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, have already recommended Starbucks shareholders vote in favor of the proposal from Trillium Asset Management, the New York City Pension Funds, and other investors."
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Sanders, Senate Dems Invite Schultz to Testify About Starbucks' Labor Law Violations
In response to organizing efforts, "the $122 billion-dollar corporation has fought their workers every step of the way, including refusing to bargain a first contract in good faith, delay tactics, and a significant escalation in union-busting."
Feb 08, 2023
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont on Tuesday invited Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz to testify about the coffee giant's "lack of compliance with federal labor laws."
All 10 Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) joined Sanders, who chairs the panel, in inviting Schultz to a hearing scheduled for March 9.
The letter—signed by Sanders and Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.)—gives Schultz until February 14 to confirm his attendance at the hearing.
"We greatly appreciate your assistance to the HELP Committee," the lawmakers told Schultz, whose wealth increased by $800 million during the pandemic to nearly $4 billion.
Since December 2021, when baristas in Buffalo made history by forming the first unionized Starbucks in the United States, workers at nearly 280 of the coffee chain's locations nationwide have voted to unionize. Organizers have won more than 80% of their campaigns despite the company's unlawful intimidation and retaliation tactics.
In response to mounting demands for better wages, benefits, and conditions, "the $122 billion-dollar corporation has fought their workers every step of the way, including refusing to bargain a first contract in good faith, delay tactics, and a significant escalation in union-busting," Sanders' office noted in a statement.
"There have been 500 unfair labor practice cases filed against Starbucks and its affiliates," the statement continued. "The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued 75 complaints in response to those charges and has sought emergency preliminary injunctive relief in five cases in the federal courts."
"Sanders has sent three letters to Schultz in the last year calling on the CEO to end the egregious union-busting campaign the company has deployed against its own workers," the Vermont Independent's office added. "Schultz has not yet responded to or provided the documents requested in the most recent letter Sanders sent in January 2023."
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Sanders Calls on Starbucks CEO to End 'Concerted and Relentless' Union-Busting Campaign
"Mr. Schultz, my request to you is simple: Obey the law," the Vermont senator wrote in a letter to Howard Schultz.
Jan 18, 2023
Sen. Bernie Sanders demanded in a letter to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on Wednesday that the company immediately end its "ruthless union-busting campaign" as the coffee giant's employees continue to face obstruction and retaliation while trying to organize—and win their first contract.
Sanders, the incoming chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, wrote that he has "serious concerns over Starbucks' concerted and relentless campaign against its workers' efforts to organize" and argued that the corporation's management has displayed a "flagrant disregard" for employee rights and federal law.
Since December 2021, workers at more than 270 Starbucks locations across the United States have voted to unionize—and the union has achieved a remarkable win rate of over 80% even amid aggressive backlash and
illegal intimidation tactics from the company.
"There have been nearly 500 unfair labor practice cases filed against Starbucks and its affiliates," Sanders noted in his letter to Starbucks' billionaire chief executive, who is set to depart the company in April. "Further, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued 69 complaints in response to those charges and has sought emergency preliminary injunctive relief in five additional cases in the federal courts. These allegations include claims that you personally threatened a worker by saying, 'If you hate Starbucks so much, why don’t you work somewhere else?'"
"These violations include discriminatorily discharging more than a dozen union organizers, attempting to interfere with workers' right to distribute and wear union material, and refusing to bargain with the union," the Vermont senator continued. "Remarkably, Starbucks argued that a preliminary injunction reinstating seven employees allegedly discharged for unionizing their store in Memphis, Tennessee was unnecessary because the union had prevailed in the election anyway."
The new letter decrying Starbucks' anti-union conduct is the second Sanders has sent to Schultz in fewer than three months, but the latest comes as the senator is preparing to take charge of the Senate HELP Committee—a panel with investigative authorities, including subpoena power, that Sanders intends to use to spotlight corporate abuses.
"The American people know that workers have a constitutional right to form unions and that corporations that engage in illegal union-busting activities must be held accountable," Sanders said in a speech late Tuesday on the state of the U.S. working class.
In his letter on Wednesday, Sanders wrote, "Mr. Schultz, my request to you is simple: Obey the law. Sit down with your workers and bargain in good faith. Agree to a first contract that is fair and just. Stop shutting down pro-union shops and reinstate workers who have been fired for union organizing."
"Sit down with your workers and bargain in good faith. Agree to a first contract that is fair and just."
In November and December, unionized Starbucks workers across the country walked off the job in an attempt to highlight the company's rampant union-busting and pressure management to stop using well-worn stall tactics to sabotage contract negotiations.
Last month, the NLRB said Starbucks unlawfully refused to engage in contract negotiations at more than 20 unionized locations in Oregon and Washington state.
Starbucks workers also say the company is imposing sweeping hours cuts following the holiday season, leaving already-precarious workers struggling to afford basic necessities.
Erin Bray, a union supporter from Starbucks' University Way store in Seattle, said Wednesday that workers at the location are "contemplating applying for food stamps and partial unemployment (neither of which are guaranteed) just to keep roofs over our heads."
"Some baristas were given 'good-faith estimates' of 35 hours per week, and Starbucks is deliberately shorting those baristas by implementing new labor metrics," said Bray. "This just goes to show that our bosses' promises aren't worth a damn, which is precisely why we want fair scheduling policies written down in black and white as part of our collective bargaining agreement."
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Starbucks Workers Urge Congress to Grill CEO Howard Schultz on Union-Busting
"Starbucks has conducted an unprecedented, aggressive anti-union campaign of harassment, captive audience meetings, and illegal firings," reads a new letter signed by 24 Starbucks workers.
Apr 18, 2022
A group of two dozen Starbucks workers is calling on the Democratic-controlled House labor committee to seek testimony from billionaire CEO Howard Schultz on the coffee company's relentless--and, according to employees and organizers, blatantly unlawful--efforts to crush unionization drives at shops across the United States.
In a letter dated April 15 and first publicized Monday by the progressive media outlet More Perfect Union, 24 Starbucks employees from Arizona and California urged Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) to use his "authority as chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor" to "invite Howard Schultz to appear before your committee and answer to this behavior and disregard for federal labor law."
"It now appears that Starbucks is doubling down on a deeply anti-worker, illegal set of practices across the country."
The letter was also signed by Lynne Fox, the president of Workers United, a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) affiliate that is vying to organize Starbucks locations nationwide.
"Since the first elections in Buffalo in late 2021, Starbucks has conducted an unprecedented, aggressive anti-union campaign of harassment, captive audience meetings, and illegal firings of union leaders and supporters," the letter notes, pointing to the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) formal complaint last month alleging that Starbucks illegally retaliated against two Phoenix employees for working to organize their shop.
"This past week, the NLRB has advised us that they have found merit that Starbucks unlawfully fired six of seven members of the workers' organizing committee in Memphis," the letter continues. "The company fired this group known as 'the Memphis 7' to spread fear of organizing at Starbucks stores across the nation. Many similar cases remain pending across the country."
The workers, who also alleged "consistent surveillance" by Starbucks management and the company's anti-union law firm, delivered their letter to Scott last week following a string of union election victories in Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts--wins that brought the total number of unionized Starbucks shops in the U.S. to 20.
According to organizers, more than 200 Starbucks locations across the country have filed for union elections with the NLRB, and additional applications are flowing in on a daily basis.
"In the face of clear and consistent evidence of support for the union from partners in store after store," the workers wrote to Scott, "it now appears that Starbucks is doubling down on a deeply anti-worker, illegal set of practices across the country."
Last week, workers at several Starbucks locations walked off the job to protest hour cuts and other anti-union tactics that the company's management is pursuing as organizing victories mount.
Schultz, an experienced executive with a long anti-union track record, was brought back as Starbucks' CEO on an interim basis earlier this month, a move that workers characterized as part of the company's effort to blunt organizing momentum.
During a town hall with Starbucks employees on April 4, the day he began his third stint as CEO, Schultz claimed that U.S. companies are "being assaulted" by union drives and made clear that he is going to fight attempts to organize Starbucks shops.
"My job in coming back to Starbucks is to ensure the fact that we, the collective we, co-create, reimagine a new Starbucks with our partners at the center of it all," Schultz declared. "As a pro-partner company. A company that does not need someone in between us and our people."
In their new letter, the Starbucks workers argued that "the recent re-appointment of Howard Schultz as interim CEO sends a clear signal to partners."
"We are well aware of his anti-union posture and actions over the decades. Howard Schultz himself came to Buffalo in November of 2021 to try to bust our union," they wrote. "Howard Schultz told one co-worker during an anti-union 'listening session' last week that if they 'hated' Starbucks then why don't they find another job. We don't hate Starbucks. Lexi Rizzo, a 24-year-old partner with almost 7 years at the company spoke for us when she said, 'We fight for what we love.'"
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