Starbucks is seeing more locations join unionization each week and has created a new anti-union website that contains misinformation and propaganda in opposition to unionization.
“We are one Starbucks” reads the top of the website’s landing page. Throughout the website, the company brags about its supposed progressive values and about its treatment of employees – who the company calls “partners” – and encourages workers to do their own research on unionization. Then, on pages entitled “frequently asked questions,” “10 things to know about a union,” and others, the company parrots anti-union talking points that union-busting companies frequently use to discourage organizing efforts.
The website claims that Starbucks is encouraging workers to vote “no” on the union because a union would drive a wedge between management and employees – something that organizers say the company has already done on its own by not listening to partners when they bring up concerns about the workplace. The company also uses the site to defend their decision of hiring. at least 30 union-busting lawyersto counter the union drive, claiming they You want to do everything legally.
The website even claims that the company is “meeting and exceeding all COVID safety measures,” even though unionizing stores across the country have almost uniformly said that the company It has failed to provide a safe workplace environmentCOVID-19
The website was created as workers are rapidly filing for unionization. More than 80 storesThousands of workers have already filed for unionization, and the company seems to be desperate to stop the union efforts. It fired last week seven workers in a unionizing store in Memphis, Tennessee; Starbucks Workers United says that these workers represented the entirety of the store’s organizing committee.
In what appears to be an attempt to vilify organizing workers, the company poses and answers a supposedly “frequently asked question” on the website: “What can I do if another partner won’t leave me alone about supporting a union?” It answers the question by saying that pro-union workers can sometimes “be annoying” in discussing unionization, and encourages workers to talk to management or call a company hotline to talk about an organizer or otherwise.
Under a section called “How Voting Works,” an employee named Tatiana says in a video that a union would compromise workers’ voices in the workplace – which is the antithesis of what unions typically set out to do. “Do you wish to continue to have your voice used independently? Or do you want your voice to be represented by a union?” asks Tatiana. The video was shot in front the Delaware and Chippewa store, Buffalo, New York. filed for unionizationEnde January
The video shows workers how to mail their ballots in for their union election. “Vote no if you want to continue your direct relationship with Starbucks and pay no dues to the union. Vote yes if you want to pay dues and have a union represent you,” Tatiana narrates before checking “no” on the sample ballot.
The company also paints the union as revenue-seeking, emphasizing in the “frequently asked questions” section of the website that a union would collect dues. This, and saying that the union would take away workers’ voices, is a classic union-busting technique.
These messages are only two of the anti-union claims the company makes on its website. Workers claim that the company has been pushing similar talk points on employees who are unionizing stores. Starbucks has been engaging in a campaign A brashAnti-union campaign for months, holding compulsory anti-union meetings and meeting with employees. Attempting to interfere with union elections.
The company is currently starting its own business. first contract negotiationsWith its Genesee Street, and Elmwood locations, there are two unionized locations located in Buffalo, New York. Workers expect a tough fight ahead. Starbucks is using the contract negotiation as leverage, telling workers at non-unionized stores to wait for a finalized contract before deciding to vote on the union – a process which the company could drag out for years.
