Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, has focused heavily on the image of his coffee chain, presented as a symbol of American liberality, a place where workers are respected and diversity is welcomed. However, despite his reputation as a Brooklyn billionaire and former Democratic presidential candidate, Schultz appears to have been unable to handle his employee relations. Ever since Starbucks employees organized into a trade union, have been reported hundreds of people fired, questioning Schultz's claims about the protection of workers' rights. The Washington Post dedicated a long article to Starbucks that traces the entire history of employee relations in the light of the latest layoff, that of a 25-year-old young barista, Lexi Rizzo.
Starbucks denounced by the unions
Numerous complaints have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board (Nlrb), the government agency responsible for enforcing labor laws in the United States in relation to collective bargaining. Starbucks has been accused of illegal trade union practices, such as firing unionized employees, spying on workers, and closing stores during union campaigns.
In response to that, the company released a statement stating that it respects the right of employees to make decisions about union representation without fear of retaliation and is committed to good faith collective bargaining for shops where a union has been properly certified. Starbucks denied having violated labor laws Americans and accused the NLRB of favoring the union.
In fact, Schultz was summoned by Congress for a hearing on March 29 but no decisions have been taken against the company which has been under observation for years for practices against its employees. During the hearing, House Democrats revealed that the NLRB inspector general has opened an investigation into matters relating to the company's stock.
Shareholders are calling for an overhaul of the company's practices
Last March, the 52% of shareholders approved a proposed external review to verify whether Starbucks lives up to the promises made in its 2020 Global Declaration on Human Rights regarding compliance with international labor standards. So far, the company hasn't provided details on who will conduct the exam or how it will be done.
Among the shareholders who have raised the issue are Trillium Asset Management, which manages approximately $44 million of stock, and the City of New York. They met with CEO Laxman Narasimhan last month to discuss the employee relations overhaul.
La internal review it should examine both international markets and the United States and evaluate the company's stock both before and after the stores join the Workers United union. It is expected that it will also involve the contribution of the workers themselves and will propose solutions should any cases of harm or policies that do not support workers' rights emerge. However, it seems that the company has postponed the completion date of the review to the end of 2023, about three months longer than previously announced.
