Starbucks Union Claims its CEO Did This

According to the union representing coffee giant Starbucks, CEO Howard Schultz has violated a labor law by threatening to withhold benefits.

The union, Starbucks Workers United, claims in an April 22 filing with the National Labor Relations Board that Starbucks, via Schultz’s comments, violated the National Labor Relations Act.

They have asked the agency to issue a complaint in the union’s favor.
In a letter that was obtained by CNBC, the union says that Schultz’s recent comments about an improved benefits plan amounted to illegal threats and had a “chilling effect” on impending union votes.

The union claims that Schultz’s comments “threatening to withhold” the benefits had an “immediate and profound chilling effect on organizing campaigns nationwide.”

Starbucks said it would need to respect the bargaining process to extend new benefits to unionized workers.

It was in April that Schultz told U.S. store leaders that the company was reviewing the coffee chain’s benefits program, but that the new benefits legally couldn’t be extended to stores that have voted to unionize without separately negotiated contracts for unionized workers.

The union’s letter also claims the comments have been “parroted” by store managers and district managers, which has interfered with efforts to organize, or had a coercive effect.

“This is not a matter of Howard’s choice or opinion; this is the law. Any new benefit cannot be unilaterally given to stores that voted to unionize during collective bargaining. Howard remains focused on moving quickly to build the future of Starbucks with partners together, side-by-side,” Starbucks spokesman Reggie Borges said to CNBC.

Starbucks Workers United has filed more than 80 claims against the company for allegedly violating federal labor law. Starbucks recently filed its first charges against the union, claiming it intimidated partners and broke federal labor law.

Schultz’s comments around the benefits review are “just another desperate attempt to prevent Starbucks partners from exercising our right to have a union and the right to collective bargaining,” says the union.

“This is an extension of other threats that Howard Schultz and their management team have been making. Hopefully at some point Howard recognizes you cannot have a ‘progressive company’ and be the poster child for union busting,” the union said.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.