By Kipp Garrett
On Monday, March 20, Laxman Narasimhan became CEO of Starbucks, replacing interim CEO Howard Schultz. Narasimhan, who has been with the company for only six months, faces his first challenge: a nationwide strike from Starbucks employees.
This comes in the wake of NLRB Administrative Law Judge Michael Rosas’ ruling that Starbucks violated labor laws by illegally disciplining and firing employees in response to “union activities.”[1]
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 guarantees employees the right to form unions and engage in collective bargaining, explicitly making union-busting illegal.[2] Union-busting tactics include mandatory meetings that disparage unionizing, false promises of change, and using pretext to fire unionizing employees.[3]
Judge Rosas’ ruling consolidated 35 unfair labor practice complaints against Starbucks spanning from 2021 to 2022. Of these complaints, 21 came from Buffalo or Rochester store locations, where in late 2021 one branch became the first in the company’s 50-year history to vote to unionize.[4] Since then, 289 Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize under Starbucks Workers United (SWU), with NLRB certification.[5]
The ruling ordered reinstatement and backpay for seven fired workers, financial restitution for 27 additional employees, the reopening of a Starbucks closed amid union activities, and bargaining with the union.
Despite this victory for SWU, the struggle to unionize continues. Last week 100+ stores saw employee walkouts, from Seattle to Massachusetts. The strikes have been sparked by union-retaliation fears and unmet demands of higher wages and safer working conditions.[6] Employees in Sommerville, Massachusetts, began their strike after management allegedly made disciplinary threats to those wearing union apparel.[7]
SWU claims Starbucks fired 150 pro-union baristas and closed 12 “recently unionized” stores in retaliation to their efforts.[8]
To combat this, SWU seeks a collective bargaining agreement that will eliminate their statuses as “at-will” employees. More specifically, a “just cause” clause preventing unfair disciplining, firings, or any other unjust managerial actions.[9]
In efforts to halt unionizing, Starbucks invested over $1 billion toward updating trainings, improving equipment, raising wages, and other employee benefits.[10]
Despite being outspoken against unionizing efforts, former CEO Schultz recently stated a willingness to begin collective bargaining meetings with SWU. This comes with a caveat however: “In person and not through Zoom,” citing security concerns.[11] SWU claims such a request is “hypocritical” and a “clear union-busting strategy” as Starbucks leadership utilizes virtual meetings regularly.
The U.S. Senate voted to subpoena Schultz, who is still a Starbucks board member. He will go before them in April to testify about the alleged union-busting campaign.
The average Starbucks barista makes $17/hr[12] – nearly $5 over the national average for fast food workers.[13] Many see this as a reason to dismiss SWU’s efforts. Nonetheless, the right to unionize is established in Federal law. With other major companies like Tesla and Amazon being accused of union-busting,[14] the Senate’s response to Schulz’s upcoming testimony could be significant in deterring them from attempts to quash organizing efforts.
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[1] Grantham-Philips, W. (2023, March 2). Starbucks violated labor laws with ‘egregious’ misconduct during unionization efforts, judge rules. USA Today. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/03/02/starbucks-violated-labor-laws-unionization/11381196002/
[2] N.A. (n.d.). 5 common union-busting tactics. LaborLab. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.laborlab.us/5_common_union_busting_tactics#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20enacted%20the,also%20makes%20union%2Dbusting%20illegal.
[3] Greenhouse, S. (2023, February 26). ‘Old-school union busting’: How us corporations are quashing the new wave of organizing. The Guardian. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/26/amazon-trader-joes-starbucks-anti-union-measures
[4] Isidore, C. (2021, December 9). Starbucks workers at Buffalo store vote to Unionize | CNN business. CNN. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/09/business/starbucks-union-vote/index.html
[5] Grantham-Philips, W. (2023, March 2). Starbucks violated labor laws with ‘egregious’ misconduct during unionization efforts, judge rules. USA Today. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/03/02/starbucks-violated-labor-laws-unionization/11381196002/
[6] Carbonaro, G. (2023, March 22). Starbucks strike across the country as videos show workers protest over pay. Newsweek. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.newsweek.com/starbucks-strike-across-country-workers-protest-pay-1789606
[7] Wallenfang, S. (2023, March 17). Somerville Starbucks workers walk out after anti-union threats. Starbucks Workers United. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://sbworkersunited.org/press/somerville-starbucks-workers-walk-out-after-anti-union-threats
[8] Greenhouse, S. (2023, February 26). ‘Old-school union busting’: How us corporations are quashing the new wave of organizing. The Guardian. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/26/amazon-trader-joes-starbucks-anti-union-measures
[9] N.A. (n.d.). FAQ. Starbucks Workers United. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://sbworkersunited.org/new-page-2
[10] Wiener-Bronner, D. (2023, March 23). New Starbucks CEO plans to pull barista shifts in stores every month | CNN business. CNN. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/23/business/starbucks-ceo-barista/index.html
[11] Id.
[12] N.A. (2023, March). Salary: Starbucks Barista . Glassdoor. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/starbucks-barista-salary-SRCH_KO0,17.htm
[13] N.A. (2022, March 31). Fast Food and counter workers. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes353023.htm
[14] Greenhouse, S. (2023, February 26). ‘Old-school union busting’: How us corporations are quashing the new wave of organizing. The Guardian. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/26/amazon-trader-joes-starbucks-anti-union-measures
