Unionized Starbucks stores face hard work of bargaining
It’s become a common sight: jubilant Starbucks workers celebrating after successful votes to unionize at dozens of U.S. stores.
But when the celebrations die down, a daunting hurdle remains: To win the changes they seek — such as better pay and more reliable schedules — unionized stores must sit down with Starbucks and negotiate a contract.
It’s a painstaking process that can take years.
“The meat is at the bargaining table,” said A.J. 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, according to the National Labor Relations Board, and at least 10 stores have rejected the union. At least 268 stores representing 7,244 workers across the U.S. have petitioned the NLRB to hold union elections.
As of last month,the labor board says it has officially certified 64 of those 85 elections, which means Starbucks must begin bargaining with the union at those stores. So far, two in Buffalo, New York, and one in Mesa, Arizona, have begun the process; many others are talking to Starbucks about dates to begin negotiating, according to Workers United, which represents the unionized stores.
All this is happening amid tensions between Workers United and the Seattle coffee giant, which opposes unionization. Already, the NLRB has filed 56 complaints against Starbucks for various labor law violations, including firing workers for union activity.
Starbucks has filed two complaints against the union, saying labor organizers harassed and intimidated workers at some stores.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, a longtime union foe, said during a corporate earnings call in May that the company respects the rights of Starbucks’ employees and will bargain where it’s required to.
But he also insisted that employees don’t need a union to get the best-inclass wages and benefits Starbucks provides.
“Sharing success through wins and benefits with our partners is among our core values, and has been for 50 years,” Schultz said.
Schultz then announced $200 million in new investments for non-union stores, including raises for veteran employees and more training time for new baristas. The company even promised one of the union’s priorities — credit card tipping — before the end of this year. Schultz said federal labor law prohibits the company from automatically sharing
those investments with unionized stores.
But labor experts say that’s a classic anti-union tactic, and Starbucks could easily offer the new benefits as part of the bargaining process.
Joe Thompson, a Starbucks worker who recently helped organize successful union elections at two stores in Santa Cruz, California, said the announcement confused and upset workers — and, for many, underscored the need for a union.
“They’re literally threatening to improve the material conditions at non-union stores,” Thompson said. “But they can take those benefits away at any point. If we have our contract, they can’t take those things away.”
Starbucks said the delays aren’t intentional, and the company is simply following the process. Spokesperson Reggie Borges said the union’s insistence on storeby-store union elections — instead of regional ones, as Starbucks requested — is one reason bargaining is limping along.