‘We are Starbucks’ STARBUCKS WORKERS COAST-TO-COAST TO STRIKE, WAGE MAJOR PROTEST DAY BEFORE ANNUAL SHAREHOLDER MEETING, AS PRESSURE MOUNTS OVER COMPANY’S ILLEGAL UNION BUSTING
Workers to demand basic rights, including livable wages, safe workplaces, voice on the job through a union
Protest and wave of strikes come day before shareholders vote on assessment of workers rights at annual shareholders meeting
MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Contact: starbucksmedia@workers-united.org
On-the-ground Contact: Shannon Garth Rhodes, 832-545-1851
SEATTLE, WA – The day before Starbucks holds its annual shareholder meeting, the company’s workers announced plans to hold a major Seattle protest and go on strike across cities including Seattle, Los Angeles, Memphis, New York and more to demand basic rights like livable wages with consistent scheduling, safe and respectful workplaces, and the right to organize free from fear and intimidation.
Workers will march outside the company’s Seattle headquarters, declaring that their fight for the right to organize will not be stopped by former union-busting CEO Howard Schultz whose lawbreaking is coming under increased scrutiny. Simultaneously, workers at over 100 stores coast to coast will go on strike today calling on Schultz and other leaders to heed their calls for better working conditions and a voice on the job.
Wednesday’s day of action will also serve to welcome the company’s new chief executive, Laxman Narasimhan, and send him a message that the transition in the C-Suite provides an opportunity for the company to stop its unprecedented campaign of union busting and instead partner with its workers and our union to build a company that truly lives up to its stated progressive values.
“Starbucks baristas like me are the ones who keep our stores running. We remember our customers’ regular orders, make the lattes, clean up spills, and are often the bright spot of our customers’ days. We are the heart and soul of Starbucks,” said Sarah Pappin, a Seattle Starbucks worker and member of Starbucks Workers United. “Instead of celebrating the law-breaking former CEO hell-bent on silencing us, Starbucks should respect our right to organize and meet us at the bargaining table. We are Starbucks, and we deserve better.”
SEATTLE PROTEST DETAILS
WHO: Starbucks workers
WHAT: Protest demanding basic rights like livable wages with consistent scheduling, safe and respectful workplaces, and the right to organize free from fear and intimidation
WHEN: Wednesday, March 22 at 12pm PT
WHERE: Starbucks Corporate Headquarters, 2401 Utah Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134
LIVESTREAM LINK: http://Facebook.com/sbworkersunited/live
NATIONWIDE STRIKE DETAILS
WHO: Starbucks workers
WHAT: Wave of strikes seeing Starbucks workers taking action coast to coast in demand of a voice on the job, better working conditions, end to union-busting and retaliation for organizing
WHEN: Wednesday, March 22
WHERE: Nationwide
CITY-SPECIFIC INFORMATION: Shannon Garth Rhodes, 832-545-1851
Trouble Brewing for Starbucks
The protest comes just one week before former Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz is set to testify before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) about the illegal anti-union bullying campaign he spearheaded a campaign that has included numerous labor law violations, according to several National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) judges. Schultz only agreed to testify under threat of subpoena.
Since December 2021, more than 7,500 Starbucks workers have organized over 280 stores, demanding Starbucks respect workers’ fundamental right to organize and bargain a fair contract with their workers.
In this same time period, the NLRB’s regional offices have issued more than 80 official complaints against Starbucks, prosecuting the company for over 1,400 specific alleged violations of federal labor law, including accusations that former CEO Howard Schultz personally threatened a worker who expressed support for organizing.
To date, NLRB Administrative Law Judges have issued nine decisions, eight of which collectively found that the company has committed 130 violations, including illegally monitoring and firing organizers, calling the police on workers, and outright closing a store that recently attempted to organize.
The March 22 day of action is the latest in a wave of activity aiming to hold Starbucks accountable to the progressive values it publicly purports to champion.
Last week, U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) sent a letter to Schultz lambasting the company’s “blatant anti-union behavior” and calling on him to bargain in good faith with his workers.
Starbucks Workers United earlier this month sent a letter to shareholders urging them to vote for a third-party assessment of the company’s commitment to uphold workers rights, arguing Starbucks’ anti-union actions run counter to the company’s International Labour Organization commitments. Two proxy advisory firms, International Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, have already recommended Starbucks shareholders vote in favor of the proposal from Trillium Asset Management, the New York City Pension Funds and other investors.
And last month, Starbucks baristas filed dozens of complaints with New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, alleging violations of the city’s Fair Workweek law.
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