Starbucks Workers United filed 20 complaints with federal labor officials in the last week. They claim that the company engaged in numerous illegal union-busting activities. Bloomberg reports.
The union claims that the company threatened all its stores in Buffalo (New York), where the union drive began. Starbucks Workers United also says that the company has been illegally coercing employees during “effectively mandatory” anti-union meetings —Starbucks has been unionizing stores across the nation since 2005 —It has also banned employees of pro-union unions from attending the meetings. The complaints were made to the Buffalo regional office (NLRB)
Other complaints allege that Cassie Fleischer was fired illegally as a union organizer. Fleischer is also a member of the bargaining commission. Fleischer Had helped organize the Elmwood storeBuffalo was the first city to organize. Elmwood has been in negotiations with the company to stop employees from filing for unionization. Workers should waitBefore deciding whether to form a union, they should hear the results of the negotiations.
Further, the union claims that the company has been restricting employees’ access to reporters and that it has been imposing dress code and other rules specifically on pro-union workers. Last month, The company was fired seven union organizers in Memphis, Tennessee, claiming that the organizers broke rules that workers said didn’t exist or had never been enforced before.
The union filed an unfair labor practice lawsuit over the terminations. It claimed that it was a clear violation of labor laws that prohibit workers from being retaliated against for organizing a union. The terminations were caught Legislators should pay attention, who pushed for the passage the pro-union Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO).
The company denies all allegations of union busting. “We’ve been clear from the beginning: Any claims of anti-union activity are categorically false,” spokesperson Reggie Borges told Bloomberg.
Over 100 workers have filed for unionization so far in more than 100 stores, with new filings coming in at an alarmingly rapid pace. Recent polling finds that the vast majority of Starbucks customers support workers’ union efforts.
The union scored a major win when workers from Mesa, Arizona won their union election. This was the third union ever formed by the company.
“This is another historic moment for Starbucks partners and service industry workers across the country,” Michelle Hejduk, shift supervisor at the Power and Baseline store in Mesa, said in a statement. “For too long, Starbucks hasn’t lived up to their mission and values and we are holding them accountable.”
Customers and employees have criticized the company for its anti-union activities. Workers have Expressions of frustrationThis is despite the company’s claims of being progressive. They have taken such drastic steps to union bust.
So far, the NLRB has shot down all of the company’s attempts to interfere with unionizing efforts. Last week The labor board ruledThe company could not delay elections or count votes any longer by arguing for elections to be held across the country, rather than store-by-store. This was a precedent against a common union busting tactic.
Even if the labor Board finds that Starbucks is illegally union busting don’t allow forCompanies that violate labor laws will face severe penalties. This means that the company could be knowingly violating labor laws because they have decided that it’s worth it to quash the union effort — a common strategyUnion-busting Companies
