The
company that build its brand on respecting its employees by listening to their needs,
paid them well, gave them medical insurance even part time works before anyone
else is now backtracking on disagreements with employees on the right to form a
union. What company, STARBUCK’S of
course.
According
to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® “all companies
forget what got them to where they are today once in a while. It’s not too late for Starbucks to stand up,
and stand with their employees is allowing them if they want to form a
union. It just might be the first step
of many in redeveloping the ability to hear and understand the need-set of its
current work force.
That
said, Starbucks has asked the union
representing the employees of 367 units to push through an impasse on contract
negotiations and hammer out employment agreements for the 9,100 employees by
the end of 2024.
The
overture to start negotiations next month came in the form of a letter from
Starbucks Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly to Lynne Fox, president of Workers
United, the parent organization of 2-year-old Starbucks Workers United (SWU).
The communication was slugged, “Formal Request to Recommence Contract
Bargaining.”
A
copy of the letter was sent to all employees of unionized Starbucks stores in
the United States. It counters the frequent assertions of Workers United that
the coffee chain refuses to bargain and is stalling the negotiations purposely
to thwart the union. With normal staff turnover, the majorities of baristas who
voted to unionize are being eroded in some instances, leaving fewer supporters
of outside representation in place. The current employees of 19 organized units
have already petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for a vote on
whether to maintain union representation.
The
regulatory agency has not granted any of the requests, citing alleged unfair
practices on Starbucks’ part.
Starbucks
said it has asked SWU representatives to meet with chain officials more than
500 times, with negotiation sessions actually scheduled in at least 100
instances. But the talks invariably broke down over disagreements about what
format the negotiations should take. Starbucks has indicated its
preference for small closed-door sessions, arguing that the relative privacy
will foster candor, trust and the discretion that’s typical of compensation
discussions.
But
Starbucks Workers United has countered with a stated preference for meetings
that are broadcast via Zoom or similar webcast platforms to a wide audience of
union members.
The
parties have also been at odds over the scope of a contract. The SWU began its
organizing campaign with petitions for a union vote in each of three stores in
Buffalo, N.Y. Starbucks countered that it’d prefer one vote for all cafes
in the market, arguing that workers often float from one unit to another. A
whole-market vote on organizing would also have been harder for the union to
win since it would have needed to convince a larger number of workers to vote
“yes” for the necessary majority.
The
NLRB sided with the union and ruled that a vote had to be held in each unit.
That store-by-store policy remains in effect today.
Now
SWU is suggesting that negotiating a single contract across all 367
union-certified Starbucks stores would make more sense. Starbucks has pointed
out that the NLRB’s decision essentially rules out the possibility, though
executives acknowledge the merit of agreeing on a basic contract template and
then tailoring it to each union store.
After
receiving Starbucks’ letter, Fox issued a statement saying, “We are reviewing
it and will respond.”
She
added, “We’ve never said no to meeting with Starbucks. Anything that moves
bargaining forward in a positive way is most welcome."
Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Scorecard or a Grocerant Program
Assessment. Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us of
Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant Call:
253-759-7869 or Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us
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