Howard Schultz, the anti-union former CEO of Starbucks, is going head to head with Sen. Bernie Sanders, a fervent defender of the right to unionize.
In his opening remarks, Sen. Sanders said, “Over the past 18 months Starbucks has waged the most aggressive and illegal union-busting campaign in the modern history of our country. The fundamental issue we are facing today is whether we have a system of justice that applies to all — or whether billionaires and large corporations can break the law with impunity.”
Schultz, who had at one time been touted as a progressive who aimed to further the cause for better pay and benefits for workers, denied the accusation that anything illegal had happened during any of his three stints as CEO. He responded, saying, “Sir, Starbucks coffee company, unequivocally — and let me set the tone for this very early on — has not broken the law.”
He went on to state, “We want to treat everyone with respect and dignity. However, I have the right, and the company has the right, to have a preference. And our preference is to maintain the direct relationship we’ve had with our employees, who we call partners.”
Schultz’ statement of Starbucks not breaking the law is categorically false, as Federal administrative law judges have found Starbucks did in fact violate labor laws in at least eight cases. The company is currently appealing these cases. One judge said that Starbucks engaged in “egregious and widespread misconduct demonstrating a general disregard for the employees,” while others ruled that the coffee company must reinstate fired workers and issue them back-pay.
Sanders attempted to get Schultz to promise that Starbucks would exchange proposals with union leaders within two weeks of today’s hearing. Schultz refused to make that promise, saying instead that Starbucks would bargain in good faith in face-to-face sessions, but would not entertain any sessions streamed on Zoom as the union has requested. With neither Starbucks nor the union being able to negotiate any collective-bargaining contract for any of the now unionized stores, both sides are accusing the other of undermining and hindering the process.
It does not appear that anything will change under new leadership at the coffee giant, with the new CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, not giving any indication that the company’s stance on unions will soften.