Starbucks said regional employees of the National Labor Relations Board repeatedly crossed the line of neutrality to help union organizers in Kansas. Here, activists protested Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in New York City last month.
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Starbucks said regional employees of the National Labor Relations Board repeatedly crossed the line of neutrality to help union organizers in Kansas. Here, activists protested Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in New York City last month.
Image of Michael M. Santiago / Getty
Starbucks alleges employees of the National Labor Relations Board secretly coordinated with union organizers in the Kansas City area — and it wants the agency to halt all mail-in voting. nationwide until a full investigation is conducted. But labor organizers immediately called the move an extension of a broader anti-union campaign.
Allegations are at the heart of a Letter 16 pages On Monday, Starbucks attorneys sent NLRB President Lauren McFerran and the agency’s general counsel.
In the letter that Starbucks shared with NPR, the company accused NLRB employees and the union of exploiting weaknesses in the vote-by-mail system to unfairly influence the vote on single-window consolidation. store in Overland Park, Kansas, earlier this year.
Starbucks alleges that NLRB area employees repeatedly crossed the neutral line, alleging that despite ordering an election by mail, the agency arranged for some voters to vote in person without Notify Starbucks representative.
It also said NLRB officers shared real-time information with organizers about whether certain ballots were received. And the company said it believes similar actions have taken place in at least two other NLRB regions.
The National Labor Relations Board was established in 1935, to protect the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively with their employers on working conditions and other matters.
NLRB and organizers respond to Starbucks statements
When reached for comment, NLRB spokeswoman Kayla Blado noted that the agency does not comment on open cases – but it appears that, at least for now, Starbucks’ complaints are not in the category. that, for its wide-ranging letter did not comply. the NLRB’s long-formulated rules for handling election challenges and other situations.
“Those challenges should be addressed in specific filings for the specific issues covered,” says Blado. “Regional staff – and ultimately the Board – will carefully and objectively consider any challenges posed through these established channels, including search opportunities rapid assessment in both representation and unfair labor practices cases.”
The union advocacy group Starbucks Workers said the new allegations were part of the Seattle group’s broader strategy to prevent organized labor.
“This is Starbucks once again trying to distract attention from their unprecedented anti-union campaign, which included the layoffs of more than 75 union leaders across the country, while attempting to halt all union elections,” the group told NPR by email. “Workers spoke loudly and clearly by winning 82 percent in union elections.”
Where did the Starbucks allegations come from?
Starbucks said the allegations stemmed from an “NLRB career expert” who it said “knew of documents specifically outlining a concerted effort to bypass the scales in voting in favor of the Union.” in store elections in the Kansas City (Overland Park) area.” Starbucks did not name the person.
When asked in a follow-up conversation whether NLRB employees used federal whistleblower protocols or contacted the agency’s inspector general about their concerns, the company said the person’s supervisor This has chosen not to pursue their requests.
Despite Starbucks’ insistence that its workers – known as “partners” – do not need a union, Starbucks Workers United says more than 200 of the company’s US stores are now unionized. The effort has quickly gained momentum over the past year, but consolidated locations represent only a fraction of the 15,650 Starbucks stores in the US listed in the US. most recent earnings report.
