Starbucks executives rail against union effort in leaked call, this week in the war on workers
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Top Starbucks executives are really butt-hurt about the so-far overwhelmingly successful union organizing drive in their stores. In a leaked video call with managers, CEO and founder Howard Schultz included the company’s own employees in a list of “obstacles and challenges” the company has “managed to overcome,” describing them as “a new outside force that’s trying desperately to disrupt our company.”
These are Starbucks workers, and they are voting overwhelmingly for a union in which they are the driving force. Workers at the Seattle Roastery, by the way, voted to unionize on Thursday, 38 to 27. There are three large “roastery” locations in the U.S., and this is the second of those to vote yes.
Rossann Williams, the company’s president for North America, repeatedly called on managers to ignore what they’re seeing on social media, flatly denied any union-busting (while describing, in veiled terms, her own role in that union-busting) despite multiple National Labor Relations Board charges against the company, and called it “heartbreaking for me to see and hear how some partners are talking about the company that I love.” Managers’ “number one responsibility,” according to Williams? Persuading workers to vote against unionizing. Not that there’s a union-busting campaign going on.
A union activist fired from a Buffalo Starbucks responded:
“okay rossann, i sat and spoke to you one on one and told you i wanted a union. i asked you why you were here in buffalo and you said to improve the partner experience. you assured me i wouldn’t experience retaliation yet i was fired march 4th. starbucks is breaking the law.”
Apple retail workers at the Grand Central store are trying to organize.
Biden administration blasts Arizona for lax workplace safety rules, Dave Jamieson reports.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday that it’s moving to revoke Arizona’s state OSHA plan. The Grand Canyon State is one of more than 20 states that run their own workplace safety programs under federal approval, with inspections carried out by state officials. Under the law, a state plan must be “at least as effective” as the federal program. If it’s found not to be, then federal officials could move to take over enforcement.
Following the work of major Democratic consulting firm Global Strategy Group worked on Amazon’s union-busting campaign, the Democratic Party is reportedly considering banning its consultants from such anti-union work, Politico’s Eleanor Mueller reported.
“Add personal story here”: Starbucks’ anti-union one-on-ones fall flat. A total must-read from New Jersey Starbucks worker Sara Mughal, peppered with great anecdotes like this:
We were prepared for the one-on-ones. One barista, Paul, started off his meeting by responding to the manager’s “How are you?” with “Pretty good. Everyone’s feeling strong about unionizing, Scott just got fired, and Hamilton Starbucks [our neighboring store] just filed [for a union election].” Scott was our former district manager who had bragged about his past experience union-busting in Philadelphia.
Two opportunities for organizers, would-be organizers, and activists: The 2022 Labor Notes conference is in Chicago from June 17 to 19. And online, a series of Organizing for Power workshops kick off on May 10.
National Domestic Workers Alliance names new director. Jenn Stowe is the granddaughter of a domestic worker and, in addition to previous roles at NDWA, she has worked at Priorities USA and Planned Parenthood.