Starbucks Committed ‘Substantial’ Violations To Defeat Union: Feds
Huff PostLOADING ERROR LOADING Federal labor officials say Starbucks broke the law repeatedly during a union organizing campaign in Florida and should be forced to bargain with the workers there. He said compelling Starbucks to bargain with the Estero workers was the only certain way to rectify the situation, given the company’s “serious and substantial violations.” “Requests for a bargaining order tend to be reserved for what officials consider egregious cases of labor law violations.” Among other charges, Cohen alleged that Starbucks fired a worker because they were a lead organizer for the union, threatened to withhold raises and benefits if workers unionized, and carried out “closer than normal supervision” of workers to discourage them from forming a union. On the whole, the union campaign, known as Starbucks Workers United, has put up strong numbers on store elections, winning 80% of the votes held through mid-December, according to recent data from the NLRB. “This complaint highlights the worst of Starbucks’ anti-union tactics.” - Starbucks Workers United Starbucks Workers United said in a statement that Starbucks was trying to “bully their way out of a union campaign.” “This complaint highlights the worst of Starbucks’ anti-union tactics, from firing union leaders to interrogating workers about their union activity,” the campaign said. “We are glad to see that the NLRB is pursuing a bargaining order for this store, a necessary remedy in a situation like this.” Starbucks Workers United has accused the company of illegally firing dozens of union organizers since the campaign began.