Starbucks employees are getting more pay and new benefits, but some are only going to baristas that haven’t unionized. A National Labor Relations Board judge previously found that similar moves by Starbucks violate federal labor law, with the company appealing the decision.
The question of which workers get what perks and benefits has been one part of a bitter fight between Starbucks and union organizers across the country. Since the first location voted to unionize nearly two years ago, Starbucks has fought aggressively against the union drive. The NLRB has said that in some cases, the company engaged in illegal practices, with Starbucks refuting these claims.
As of mid-October, nearly 360 stores had voted in favor of a union, with the results certified by the NLRB. About 70 voted against, with those results certified. There are roughly 9,300 company-operated Starbucks locations in the United States.
So everyone should remain upset about the illegality of this, and how it’s anti-union.
But it’s also good news because they’ve shifted focus. They’re focused on disincentivizing unions rather than directly shutting down unionized locations. They probably can’t afford to shut down unionized locations anymore.
This is quite the de-escalation. This will continue on this trend, which is why all current and further anti-union activity must be challenged.