Starbucks investors urge company to restart union talks
The letter, signed by Brad Lander, Auditor of Trillium Asset Management, Research and Education Shareholders Association and Retirement Investment Research Consultants, was addressed to Starbucks board members Jorgen Vig Knudstorpand and Beth Ford and called on the company to enter into a contract agreement with Starbucks Workers United.
“We are concerned that Starbucks’ labor relations have deteriorated significantly, as reflected by over a hundred Unfair Labor Practice complaints filed since the beginning of the year, in-store actions, associate departures, and protests over store closures and even strikes,” the letter said. It was said.
New York City pension funds said they were the largest Starbucks shareholders within the group, with about 1.33 million shares. Starbucks did not respond to a request for comment.
The union has been at odds with management for months. Talks between Starbucks and Starbucks Workers United, which represents more than 12,000 baristas, began in April last year but have since stalled.
In December, union members staged multi-day strikes in several U.S. cities during the height of the holiday season. “More than three years have passed since the first successful union election by Starbucks Workers United, and a contract agreement has yet to be reached,” the letter said. Starbucks’ store in Buffalo, New York, was the first company-owned location in the United States to unionize in December 2021.
There are currently more than 650 unionized Starbucks stores in the country, according to the SBWU’s website.
SBWU republished excerpts from the shareholder letter on its website without further comment.
Last month, Starbucks said it would close underperforming stores in North America, including its unionized store in Seattle, as CEO Brian Niccol pressed ahead with a $1 billion restructuring plan to revive sales.
