'Stunning clean sweep' as Starbucks workers win 5 straight union votes in Virginia
2 years, 8 months ago

'Stunning clean sweep' as Starbucks workers win 5 straight union votes in Virginia

Raw Story  

The nationwide wave of labor organizing by Starbucks workers continued to bear fruit Tuesday as employees at five of the coffee chain's Richmond, Virginia stores overwhelmingly voted to unionize. Sanders is scheduled to appear Sunday at Unity Fest, a free event "to support and celebrate the organizing efforts of Starbucks workers locally and across the country." Inspired by the historic unionization of Starbucks workers in Buffalo, New York late last year, the global coffee chain's Richmond employees began their own organizing journey in February. Richmond Starbucks workers said the company utilized union-busting tactics as they sought to organize, including slashing employee hours.

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Starbucks workers to start U.S. strike on Friday: union
4 days, 17 hours ago

Starbucks workers to start U.S. strike on Friday: union

Raw Story  

Workers at Starbucks will walk off the job Friday in three U.S. cities in a strike their union threatened could spread around the country in the busy run-up to Christmas. It's a last resort, but Starbucks has broken its promise to thousands of baristas and left us with no choice," a union press release quoted Texas barista Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi as …

Starbucks workers begin strikes that could spread to hundreds of US stores by Christmas Eve
4 days, 20 hours ago

Starbucks workers begin strikes that could spread to hundreds of US stores by Christmas Eve

Associated Press  

Workers at Starbucks stores began a five-day strike Friday to protest lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. Starbucks Workers United, the union organizing Starbucks’ baristas, said at least 10 locations were closed down as of midday Friday. Workers at 535 company-owned U.S. stores have voted to unionize, but Starbucks has nearly 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores Starbucks Workers …

Starbucks workers’ union goes on strike in US cities
5 days, 4 hours ago

Starbucks workers’ union goes on strike in US cities

Al Jazeera  

Workers complain of inadequate wages as inflation soars, and promise to escalate the strike. The Starbucks Workers United Union, which represents employees at 525 stores across the US, said late on Thursday that walkouts would escalate daily and could reach “hundreds of stores” nationwide by Christmas Eve. “It’s estimated that 10 stores out of 10,000 company-operated stores did not open …

Starbucks baristas in L.A. and other cities go on strike over elusive contract
5 days, 4 hours ago

Starbucks baristas in L.A. and other cities go on strike over elusive contract

LA Times  

Baristas at a handful of Starbucks around Los Angeles as well as in Chicago and Seattle went on strike Friday, kicking off a work stoppage that union officials said would include hundreds of the coffee giant’s stores by Christmas Eve. At 10 a.m. a crowd of about 30 Starbucks workers, union organizers and supporters walked a picket line outside, chanting, …

Starbucks, Union Agree To Bargain Contracts For 400 Stores
9 months ago

Starbucks, Union Agree To Bargain Contracts For 400 Stores

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Starbucks has agreed to sit down with workers representing its 400 unionized stores in late April and start hammering out principles for a labor accord, another sign the coffee chain and the union may be on the cusp of a new, productive relationship. In a statement to HuffPost, Starbucks said specific arrangements still needed to be worked …

Starbucks’ Surprise Labor Pivot Could Spur a New Unionization Wave
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Starbucks’ Surprise Labor Pivot Could Spur a New Unionization Wave

Hindustan Times  

-- Starbucks Corp.’s new commitment to work with its main union to end hostilities and hash out a fair process for labor organizing is a landmark moment for labor relations — both at the coffee chain that’s long resisted organizing, and far beyond it. But they open a new era for the company, whose then-chief executive officer, Howard Schultz in …

21 Starbucks Stores Plan To Form Unions In 1-Day Blitz
10 months ago

21 Starbucks Stores Plan To Form Unions In 1-Day Blitz

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Starbucks baristas from 21 stores around the country told the company Tuesday that they plan to organize, potentially adding hundreds of new members to a union campaign that’s battling the coffee chain for first contracts. The union, Workers United, said it is the largest group of Starbucks stores to go public with their organizing plans in a …

Starbucks Union Demands Probe Of Company's Anti-Union Spending
11 months ago

Starbucks Union Demands Probe Of Company's Anti-Union Spending

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING The union that organized nearly 400 Starbucks stores has asked regulators to demand financial disclosures from the coffee chain and its law firm related to their long-running campaign against the organizing effort. But Workers United argues that Littler Mendelson’s attorneys have tried to persuade workers against unionizing directly through “coercive” subpoenas, and therefore their work should be …

Starbucks labor report — demanded by shareholders — calls for better training on union issues
1 year ago

Starbucks labor report — demanded by shareholders — calls for better training on union issues

Associated Press  

Starbucks should better communicate its commitment to workers’ collective bargaining rights and train its employees to respect those rights, according to an independent assessment released Wednesday. Since 2021, at least 370 of Starbucks’ 9,600 company-owned U.S. stores have voted to unionize with Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. Mackall also said Starbucks’ Global Human Rights Statement …

Starbucks audit finds ‘missteps’ by management but no evidence of an ‘antiunion playbook’
1 year ago

Starbucks audit finds ‘missteps’ by management but no evidence of an ‘antiunion playbook’

LA Times  

Starbucks, contending with unionization at hundreds of its U.S. stores, should bolster guidance on how it disciplines workers and measures compliance with collective bargaining rights, a third-party assessment of the company’s labor practices found. The assessment — which shareholders requested in March against the company’s recommendation — found no evidence of an “antiunion playbook” suggesting “surreptitious means of interfering with …

Brewing change: The impact of the 2023 Starbucks boycotts on the labor movement
1 year ago

Brewing change: The impact of the 2023 Starbucks boycotts on the labor movement

Salon  

Early last month, Starbucks Workers United organized what it described was the largest work stoppage in Starbucks history. Thousands of workers at more than 200 Starbucks locations nationwide went on strike on “Red Cup Day,” an annual promotion that’s also one of the most infamously understaffed days for the coffee chain’s baristas. Last year, unionized workers also went on strike …

In a reversal, Starbucks proposes restarting union talks and reaching contract agreements in 2024
1 year ago

In a reversal, Starbucks proposes restarting union talks and reaching contract agreements in 2024

Associated Press  

Starbucks said Friday it’s committed to bargaining with its unionized workers and reaching labor agreements next year, a major reversal for the coffee chain after two years fighting the unionization of its U.S. stores. In a letter to Lynne Fox, the president of the Workers United union, Starbucks Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly said the current bargaining impasse between the …

Business Highlights: Workers approve contract with GM; Starbucks staff strikes on busy Red Cup Day
1 year, 1 month ago

Business Highlights: Workers approve contract with GM; Starbucks staff strikes on busy Red Cup Day

Associated Press  

___ General Motors becomes 1st Detroit automaker to seal deal with unionized workers DETROIT — United Auto Workers union members have voted to approve a new contract with General Motors, making the company the first Detroit automaker to get a ratified deal that could end a contentious and lengthy labor dispute. ___ Thousands of Starbucks workers strike on one of …

Thousands of Starbucks workers go on a one-day strike, one of busiest days of year for the chain
1 year, 1 month ago

Thousands of Starbucks workers go on a one-day strike, one of busiest days of year for the chain

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The Workers United union chose …

Starbucks Workers Are Racking Up Wins In Union-Busting Cases
1 year, 1 month ago

Starbucks Workers Are Racking Up Wins In Union-Busting Cases

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Ella Clark didn’t have much time to goof around after she graduated from high school in June. “Starbucks would insist they haven’t broken the law,” said Clark, who hopes to major in government and history. “While appeals of several cases are pending,” a board spokesperson noted, “No findings of labor law violations in Starbucks-related cases have been …

Starbucks’ unionized baristas plan their largest-ever strike for the Red Cup Day promotion Thursday
1 year, 1 month ago

Starbucks’ unionized baristas plan their largest-ever strike for the Red Cup Day promotion Thursday

LA Times  

The Starbucks Workers United union said the strike Thursday will involve thousands of workers at hundreds of stores. Unionized Starbucks Corp. baristas plan to hold their biggest strike yet this week, accusing the coffee giant of refusing to fairly negotiate at cafes that voted to organize. The company, which denies wrongdoing, said it hopes that the union’s “priorities will shift …

New Starbucks CEO plans to work in stores monthly
1 year, 9 months ago

New Starbucks CEO plans to work in stores monthly

Associated Press  

Starbucks’ new CEO Laxman Narasimhan says he plans to work a half-day shift once a month in one of the company’s stores in an effort to stay close to its culture and customers. Narasimhan, who took the reins as CEO earlier this week, said in a letter to Starbucks’ employees Thursday that he also expects the company’s leadership team to …

Starbucks workers protest before annual shareholder meeting
1 year, 9 months ago

Starbucks workers protest before annual shareholder meeting

Associated Press  

SEATTLE — Starbucks workers and labor activists rallied outside the company’s Seattle headquarters Wednesday to protest what they describe as union-busting efforts by executives. Organizers said employees also walked off the job at more than 100 stores in 40 U.S. cities, though the company disputed the breadth of the protests and said nearly every store remained open. Some stores remained …

Starbucks Committed ‘Substantial’ Violations To Defeat Union: Feds
1 year, 11 months ago

Starbucks Committed ‘Substantial’ Violations To Defeat Union: Feds

Huff Post  

LOADING 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 …

As Starbucks unionizing slows, some strike, others skeptical
1 year, 11 months ago

As Starbucks unionizing slows, some strike, others skeptical

Associated Press  

Labor organizers hope this will be the year that Starbucks’ U.S. workers finally negotiate a union contract. So far, employees have voted to unionize at 274 stores, or 3% of Starbucks’ 9,000 company-owned U.S. locations, according to the labor board. Labor organizers say the long wait for Starbucks to negotiate store contracts with Workers United — an offshoot of the …

Starbucks workers strike at more than 100 US stores
2 years, 1 month ago

Starbucks workers strike at more than 100 US stores

Al Jazeera  

The walkouts coincide with Starbucks’s annual Red Cup Day, when the company gives free reusable cups to customers. Starbucks workers at more than 100 US stores are on strike Thursday in their largest labour action since a campaign to unionise the company’s stores began late last year. The walkouts coincide with Starbucks’s annual Red Cup Day, when the company gives …

Starbucks union-busting tactics against organizing workers will teach other companies how to crush union drives.
2 years, 1 month ago

Starbucks union-busting tactics against organizing workers will teach other companies how to crush union drives.

Slate  

In June, Starbucks permanently closed its busiest store in Ithaca, New York, after the newly unionized baristas there went on a short strike to protest unsanitary conditions. In August, Trader Joe’s closed its wine shop in New York City’s Union Square just days before that store’s workers were to unveil plans to seek a union election. It’s extremely hard for …

Starbucks workers have unionized at record speed; many fear retaliation now
2 years, 2 months ago

Starbucks workers have unionized at record speed; many fear retaliation now

NPR  

Starbucks workers have unionized at record speed; many fear retaliation now Enlarge this image toggle caption Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images Starbucks workers are busy this fall, and not just with making pumpkin spice lattes. Enlarge this image toggle caption Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images Added benefits for nonunion stores …

Starbucks CEO is blind to the publicity in labor organizing
2 years, 3 months ago

Starbucks CEO is blind to the publicity in labor organizing

Raw Story  

The billionaire who built the Starbucks brand into one of the globe’s favorite recreational drug dealers returned in April as interim CEO of the company. The National Labor Relations Board has accused Howard Schultz’s company of breaking federal labor laws with the carelessness and passion of a twice impeached president stealing nuclear secrets. "Every decision Starbucks makes must be viewed …

Starbucks to revamp stores to speed service, boost morale
2 years, 3 months ago

Starbucks to revamp stores to speed service, boost morale

Associated Press  

Starbucks __ ringing up record sales but struggling with low employee morale __ plans to spend $450 million next year to make its North American stores more efficient and less complex. Our physical stores were built for a different era,” said John Culver, Starbucks’ chief operating officer, at a day-long event for investors in Seattle Tuesday. Culver said customizable cold …

Starbucks accuses US labour officials of helping workers unionise
2 years, 4 months ago

Starbucks accuses US labour officials of helping workers unionise

Al Jazeera  

The coffee giant is asking the National Labor Relations Board to temporarily suspend all union elections at US stores. The coffee giant on Monday accused NLRB agents of helping the union group Starbucks Workers United win elections by manipulating the voting process and then collaborating to cover up the behaviour, according to a letter Starbucks sent to the NLRB. The …

Starbucks CEO shuts 16 stores citing safety issues but employees claim he's trying to stop the union
2 years, 5 months ago

Starbucks CEO shuts 16 stores citing safety issues but employees claim he's trying to stop the union

Daily Mail  

Labor leaders trying to organize Starbucks workers in 'woke cities' across the country roasted coffee chain's CEO Howard Schultz, charging that he's started a 'war' against the union by shuttering 16 cafés because they're too dangerous to operate. Pictured are homeless people loitering outside a Starbucks in Seattle, which will also experience closures, the company said In the leaked video …

The barista uprising: Coffee shop workers ignite a union renewal
2 years, 5 months ago

The barista uprising: Coffee shop workers ignite a union renewal

NPR  

The barista uprising: Coffee shop workers ignite a union renewal Enlarge this image toggle caption Darren Hauck for NPR Darren Hauck for NPR As the wave of worker organizing at Starbucks took off this year, Steph Achter looked on with joy. toggle caption Darren Hauck for NPR Lutz got other Stone Creek baristas on board with her cause. A career …

America’s workers gained power during Covid. A volatile economy will put that to the test
2 years, 6 months ago

America’s workers gained power during Covid. A volatile economy will put that to the test

CNN  

San Francisco CNN Business — The pandemic shone a spotlight on the vast disparities in benefits and rights among America’s workforce and helped fuel a movement to unionize more workers. Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times/AP In April, workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island were the first to vote to successfully unionize in the company’s history; what began as …

7 fired Starbucks workers celebrate union vote in Memphis
2 years, 6 months ago

7 fired Starbucks workers celebrate union vote in Memphis

Associated Press  

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Seven employees of a Tennessee Starbucks who were fired after starting unionization efforts claimed victory Tuesday when their Memphis store voted to join a wave of U.S. locations of the coffee chain that have decided to organize. The so-called Memphis Seven jumped for joy, hugged one another and wept after a count held by the National Labor …

Unionized Starbucks stores face hard work of bargaining
2 years, 6 months ago

Unionized Starbucks stores face hard work of bargaining

Associated Press  

It’s become a common sight: jubilant Starbucks workers celebrating after successful votes to unionize at dozens of U.S. stores. “The meat is at the bargaining table,” said AJ Jones, Starbucks’ senior vice president of global communications and a former consultant to companies during labor negotiations. At least 85 of Starbucks’ 9,000 company-run U.S. stores have voted to unionize since December, …

Starbucks’ Union-Busting Was So Bad It Should Be Forced To Bargain: Labor Officials
2 years, 7 months ago

Starbucks’ Union-Busting Was So Bad It Should Be Forced To Bargain: Labor Officials

Huff Post  

The National Labor Relations Board has seen an uptick in union election petitions this year, including a slew from Starbucks workers who are organizing their stores. “It was a really long road to get here and very frustrating to face a company that repeatedly violated labor law to coerce workers into voting ‘no,’” said Will Westlake, a pro-union barista at …

Starbucks stores in Long Beach, Lakewood unionize as labor movement hits Southern California
2 years, 7 months ago

Starbucks stores in Long Beach, Lakewood unionize as labor movement hits Southern California

LA Times  

Workers from two Starbucks stores, in Lakewood and Long Beach, celebrate at the Workers United office near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles where they gathered Friday to hear union election results as ballots were tallied. Workers at two Southern California Starbucks locations, one in Lakewood and one in Long Beach, voted to join a union Friday, bringing the total number …

Starbucks Is Playing With Fire
2 years, 7 months ago

Starbucks Is Playing With Fire

Slate  

Ever since a few dozen baristas began an organizing drive in Buffalo, New York, last year, Starbucks has been engaged in a crude union-busting campaign that has made a mockery of the image it has sought to portray to its customers and workforce. But one Buffalo barista, Will Westlake, told of being summoned to an hourlong anti-union session where it …

California is now home to two unionized Starbucks stores
2 years, 7 months ago

California is now home to two unionized Starbucks stores

LA Times  

Workers at two Starbucks stores in Santa Cruz voted overwhelmingly to join a union, becoming the first locations of the coffee giant in California to unionize. Workers at two Starbucks stores in Santa Cruz have unionized, becoming the first stores in California to join the ballooning ranks of the coffee giant’s organized baristas and shift supervisors. Workers at both Santa …

Starbucks workers drive nationwide surge in union organizing
2 years, 7 months ago

Starbucks workers drive nationwide surge in union organizing

NPR  

Starbucks workers drive nationwide surge in union organizing Enlarge this image toggle caption Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images On August 30, 2021, three Starbucks stores in and around Buffalo, New York, filed union election petitions with the National Labor Relations Board. An NPR analysis of union election petitions filed with the NLRB found that a …

Column: Why Starbucks has become a huge unionization target — and why the company is in a panic
2 years, 8 months ago

Column: Why Starbucks has become a huge unionization target — and why the company is in a panic

LA Times  

On April 7, Madison Hall, a barista and union organizer at the Starbucks store on Long Beach’s bustling 2nd Street commercial strip, was invited to a session the next day to “meet with and co-create with upper-level management,” Hall says. “Because Starbucks is a front-facing company considered ‘essential,’” Workers United organizing chief Richard Minter says, “the pandemic exacerbated the employer-employee …

Workers unionize at flagship Seattle Starbucks roastery
2 years, 8 months ago

Workers unionize at flagship Seattle Starbucks roastery

Associated Press  

SEATTLE — Starbucks workers at the coffee giant’s flagship roastery in Seattle voted Thursday to form a union, the chain’s latest location to form a collective bargaining unit. The Starbucks Reserve and Roastery in the Capitol Hill neighborhood is the business’s second to unionize in its hometown of Seattle. “A big part of it is just that we don’t have …

Starbucks union campaign's streak of election wins ends with a loss in Virginia
2 years, 8 months ago

Starbucks union campaign's streak of election wins ends with a loss in Virginia

NPR  

Starbucks union campaign's streak of election wins ends with a loss in Virginia Enlarge this image toggle caption Michael A. McCoy for NPR Michael A. McCoy for NPR A streak of unionizing at Starbucks has been broken, with workers at a store in Springfield, Virginia, voting against the union. toggle caption Michael A. McCoy for NPR Tensions at the Springfield …

Starbucks unionization effort explodes as 200 stores seek elections despite company's scorched-earth strategy
2 years, 8 months ago

Starbucks unionization effort explodes as 200 stores seek elections despite company's scorched-earth strategy

Raw Story  

We speak with Starbucks Workers United organizer and barista Jaz Brisack on the growing Starbucks union drive that has swept across 30 U.S. states since she helped successfully organize the first U.S. unionized location in Buffalo, New York, last December. Brisack also talks about Amazon’s first union in Staten Island, New York, saying the move “shows we as workers and …

Seattle Starbucks unionizes in coffee giant’s home city
2 years, 9 months ago

Seattle Starbucks unionizes in coffee giant’s home city

Associated Press  

SEATTLE — Baristas and other employees at a Seattle Starbucks have voted to unionize, the first such vote in the city where Starbucks originated and the latest in a nationwide push to organize the coffee shop chain. The unanimous vote announced Tuesday by the National Labor Relations Board is also an especially symbolic win as Howard Schultz returns as interim …

Labor foe Schultz returns as Starbucks union effort grows
2 years, 9 months ago

Labor foe Schultz returns as Starbucks union effort grows

Associated Press  

From the time he bought Starbucks in 1987 to the time he stepped down as chairman in 2018, Howard Schultz consistently — and successfully — fought attempts to unionize Starbucks’ U.S. stores and roasting plants. “He took it really personally that his workers wanted to be part of a union, because he thought with him in charge they wouldn’t need …

Starbucks workers at 3 more NY stores vote to unionize
2 years, 9 months ago

Starbucks workers at 3 more NY stores vote to unionize

Associated Press  

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Employees at three more Starbucks stores in suburban Buffalo have voted to form unions, a count of ballots revealed Wednesday, bringing to six the number of unionized Starbucks shops and further advancing organizing efforts underway in at least two dozen states. Union supporters said the close results likely reflected what they described as efforts by Starbucks to …

Three more Starbucks locations in Buffalo area vote to unionize
2 years, 9 months ago

Three more Starbucks locations in Buffalo area vote to unionize

NPR  

Three more Starbucks locations in Buffalo area vote to unionize Enlarge this image toggle caption Scott Olson/Getty Images Scott Olson/Getty Images The number of unionized Starbucks stores has doubled after employees at three more locations in the Buffalo area voted to join Workers United, a union affiliated with the Service Employees International Union. The vote count, originally scheduled to take …

Arizona Starbucks becomes 1st outside New York to unionize
2 years, 9 months ago

Arizona Starbucks becomes 1st outside New York to unionize

Associated Press  

MESA, Ariz. — Employees at a Starbucks in suburban Phoenix voted Friday to form a union, becoming the first store outside New York to organize. Pro-union leaders say Starbucks workers deserve the right to collectively bargain on issues like benefits, seniority pay and pandemic safety protocols. Borges, the Starbucks spokesman, called accusations of union-busting “categorically false.” The Starbucks in Mesa …

Another Starbucks Store Votes To Unionize
2 years, 9 months ago

Another Starbucks Store Votes To Unionize

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Starbucks workers at a store in Mesa, Arizona, have voted to unionize, adding more fire to a labor campaign that’s spread from coast to coast. In a ballot count held Friday by the National Labor Relations Board, 28 workers at the store voted to join Workers United, the union that’s been organizing the coffee chain since last …

Starbucks' union busting campaign is backfiring
2 years, 10 months ago

Starbucks' union busting campaign is backfiring

Salon  

Starbucks, the multinational coffee giant known for its "progressive" branding, is employing an array of dubious anti-labor tactics as more and more company employees from around the country unionize in protest of poor working conditions. Over the past several weeks, Starbucks has inundated workers with anti-union text messages and held "captive audience meetings," where workers are forced to attend management-led …

Starbucks employees in New York City want to unionise
2 years, 10 months ago

Starbucks employees in New York City want to unionise

Al Jazeera  

The Starbucks Corp. unionization campaign that began in western New York and spread across the country has now reached New York City, with employees in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island petitioning to organize and drawing support from prominent politicians in the area. The Workers United union announced Thursday that it has filed union petitions at five downstate New York Starbucks …

Starbucks, citing safety, fires 7 seeking union in Memphis
2 years, 10 months ago

Starbucks, citing safety, fires 7 seeking union in Memphis

Associated Press  

Starbucks has fired seven employees who were leading an effort to unionize a Memphis, Tennessee, store. The Seattle coffee giant said Tuesday that the employees violated company policy by reopening a store after closing time and inviting non-employees to come inside and move throughout the store, including behind the counter and in back rooms. Since December, when a store in …

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