Fogbow

Starbucks Broke the Law More than 200 Times in Campaign to Bust Buffalo Union

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams
PUBLISHED May 7, 2022

Aregional director of the National Labor Relations Board filed a sweeping complaint Friday alleging that Starbucks violated federal law more than 200 times in its campaign to prevent employees in Buffalo, New York from forming a union.

The complaint accuses Starbucks of trampling on the National Labor Relations Act by singling out union organizers for discipline, surveillance, and termination; shuttering entire stores in the Buffalo area amid the union push; and threatening workers with inferior benefits if they voted to unionize. HuffPost published the NLRB complaint in full.

“Starbucks has been saying that no union-busting ever occurred in Buffalo. Today, the NLRB sets the record straight,” said Starbucks Workers United, which led the Buffalo unionization campaign that has since swept the nation. “The complaint confirms the extent and depravity of Starbucks’ conduct in Western New York for the better part of a year.”

“Starbucks will be held accountable for the union-busting minefield they forced workers to walk through in fighting for their right to organize,” the group continued. “This complaint fully unmasks Starbucks’ facade as a ‘progressive company’ and exposes the truth of Howard Schultz’s anti-union war.”

As expected, Starbucks denied violating federal law and rejected the NLRB’s allegations of anti-union activity as “categorically false,” even as CEO Howard Schultz publicly lashes out at union organizers and threatens to exclude unionized workers from new benefits and pay raises.

Since workers at a pair of stores in Buffalo voted in December to form the first Starbucks unions in the U.S., more than 50 locations across the country have won elections to unionize, boasting a remarkable 85% win rate even in the face of relentless opposition from the company’s management and its notorious anti-union law firm, Littler Mendelson.

More than 250 additional Starbucks locations have filed for union elections with the NLRB in recent months as management continues and intensifies its union-busting efforts, slashing workers’ hours nationwide and retaliating against organizers.



https://truthout.org/articles/starbucks ... alo-union/

Starbucks CEO vowed to violate labor law live on video

Starbucks is continuing its vicious anti-union campaign, even as the failure of that campaign to keep workers from voting to unionize becomes more clear by the day. Speaking to The New York Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin late last week, Starbucks interim CEO Howard Schultz made clear that, under his leadership, the company will not bargain in good faith with its union.

Asked if he could imagine “embracing the union,” Schultz simply said “No,” in a “why are you asking me this ridiculous question” tone. Starbucks Workers United has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board over that statement, which is in direct conflict with the company’s claim that “We will bargain in good faith for those seeking third-party representation.” In fact, Starbucks is required by law to bargain in good faith. If the NLRB finds merit to the charge (and Schultz is on video here), it will try to get Starbucks to settle, and if the company refuses, the NLRB can take the charge to court.

Starbucks recently closed one of the three Ithaca stores that has unionized, and the one where workers held a one-day strike over an overflowing grease trap. It’s true that Starbucks has a lot of stores and sometimes it closes them. But this is an extremely busy store near the Cornell University campus, and it’s been there for 17 years. It’s a suspicious closure coming in the middle of such an extreme anti-union campaign by the company, and workers there were not guaranteed jobs at other stores. In response, the union is calling for a boycott of the remaining Starbucks stores in Ithaca.

With Starbucks stock dropping, one major investor, Trillium Asset Management, is calling on the company to end its union-busting campaign. “In the last 10 months, Trillium has been actively pressing Starbucks to respect worker rights to organize,” the firm’s chief advocacy officer said in a video released by More Perfect Union, adding that the company “should not put [its] reputation in jeopardy with behavior that the NLRB regards as union busting.”

Starbucks versus Gen Z


[Interim CEO] Schultz's view of the economy is ahistorical. Yes, some workers in mid-Century America faced abusive working conditions. But some workers face abusive working conditions today. And in mid-century America, corporations struck a much more equitable balance between profitability, executive compensation, and worker pay.

In 1965, for example, American CEOs made 15 times more than the average worker. Today, the CEO-to-worker pay gap at America’s largest low-wage employers like Starbucks is closer to 670 to 1, according to a report published this month by the Institute for Policy Studies.

The pay ratio at Starbucks is even more extreme. Starbucks’ former CEO, Kevin Johnson, raked in $20.4 million in 2021 –– 1,579 times more than what the typical Starbucks worker took home. The explosion in CEO pay began about 40 years ago. During that time, CEOs have not become significantly more skilled or productive. Rather, CEOs have convinced corporate boards to pay workers less and pay executives more.

Starbucks is part of a broader trend. Since the mid-80s, corporate profits as a percentage of the economy have risen dramatically. Over the same period of time, wage income as a share of the economy has decreased.

Research also shows that these trends were fueled by the decline of unionization. In the 50s, about one-third of the workforce was unionized. Today, it's only 10%. “The erosion of collective bargaining is the second largest factor that suppressed wage growth and fueled wage inequality over the last four decades,” the Economic Policy Institute reports.

The pay ratio at Starbucks is even more extreme. Starbucks’ former CEO, Kevin Johnson, raked in $20.4 million in 2021 –– 1,579 times more than what the typical Starbucks worker took home. The explosion in CEO pay began about 40 years ago. During that time, CEOs have not become significantly more skilled or productive. Rather, CEOs have convinced corporate boards to pay workers less and pay executives more.

Tiredretiredlawyer wrote: ↑Thu Jun 16, 2022 9:08 am Judd Legum's take on Starbucks.

https://popular.info/p/starbucks-versus-gen-z

Starbucks versus Gen Z


[Interim CEO] Schultz's view of the economy is ahistorical. Yes, some workers in mid-Century America faced abusive working conditions. But some workers face abusive working conditions today. And in mid-century America, corporations struck a much more equitable balance between profitability, executive compensation, and worker pay.

In 1965, for example, American CEOs made 15 times more than the average worker. Today, the CEO-to-worker pay gap at America’s largest low-wage employers like Starbucks is closer to 670 to 1, according to a report published this month by the Institute for Policy Studies.

The pay ratio at Starbucks is even more extreme. Starbucks’ former CEO, Kevin Johnson, raked in $20.4 million in 2021 –– 1,579 times more than what the typical Starbucks worker took home. The explosion in CEO pay began about 40 years ago. During that time, CEOs have not become significantly more skilled or productive. Rather, CEOs have convinced corporate boards to pay workers less and pay executives more.

Starbucks is part of a broader trend. Since the mid-80s, corporate profits as a percentage of the economy have risen dramatically. Over the same period of time, wage income as a share of the economy has decreased.

Research also shows that these trends were fueled by the decline of unionization. In the 50s, about one-third of the workforce was unionized. Today, it's only 10%. “The erosion of collective bargaining is the second largest factor that suppressed wage growth and fueled wage inequality over the last four decades,” the Economic Policy Institute reports.

raison de arizona wrote: ↑Thu Jun 16, 2022 1:52 pm

The pay ratio at Starbucks is even more extreme. Starbucks’ former CEO, Kevin Johnson, raked in $20.4 million in 2021 –– 1,579 times more than what the typical Starbucks worker took home. The explosion in CEO pay began about 40 years ago. During that time, CEOs have not become significantly more skilled or productive. Rather, CEOs have convinced corporate boards to pay workers less and pay executives more.

It's a lot cheaper for Starbucks to pay a CEO $20M or even $40M than it is to give all their workers a $1/hr raise.

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Thu Jun 16, 2022 4:43 pm

raison de arizona wrote: ↑Thu Jun 16, 2022 1:52 pm

The pay ratio at Starbucks is even more extreme. Starbucks’ former CEO, Kevin Johnson, raked in $20.4 million in 2021 –– 1,579 times more than what the typical Starbucks worker took home. The explosion in CEO pay began about 40 years ago. During that time, CEOs have not become significantly more skilled or productive. Rather, CEOs have convinced corporate boards to pay workers less and pay executives more.

It's a lot cheaper for Starbucks to pay a CEO $20M or even $40M than it is to give all their workers a $1/hr raise.

But who says what the CEO does deserves $20M or even $40M?

U.S. Bank opened fake accounts for unsuspecting customers

BY MEGAN CERULLO
JULY 28, 2022 / 11:38 AM

One of the largest banks in the U.S. illegally opened accounts for customers without their permission, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank, the country's fifth-largest bank with over $559 billion in assets, accessed unsuspecting customers' credit reports and opened checking and savings accounts, credit cards and lines of credit without customers' authorization in order to boost sales, the CFPB found in a five-year-long investigation.

U.S. Bank knew its employees were opening the unauthorized accounts but failed to regulate them, according to the agency. The bank imposed sales goals on workers and introduced an incentive-compensation program that financially rewarded employees for selling its products like deposit accounts and credit cards, the CFPB said.

"For over a decade, U.S. Bank knew its employees were taking advantage of its customers by misappropriating consumer data to create fictitious accounts," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement Thursday. "We all must do more to hold lawbreaking companies accountable when they abuse and misuse our sensitive personal data."

The illegal actions harmed the bank's customers by hurting their credit scores, according to regulators. Customers were also forced to close the unauthorized accounts and seek refunds on fees they were charged.





https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-bank-fa ... reau-cfpb/

"For over a decade, U.S. Bank knew its employees were taking advantage of its customers by misappropriating consumer data to create fictitious accounts,"

RTH10260 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 02, 2022 3:24 pm

U.S. Bank opened fake accounts for unsuspecting customers

neonzx wrote: ↑Tue Aug 02, 2022 3:32 pm

RTH10260 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 02, 2022 3:24 pm

U.S. Bank opened fake accounts for unsuspecting customers

Is this similar to another major bank which was opening new accounts and credit for existing customers unbeknownst to them in order for the bankers (sales people) under pressure from above to earn commissions? Was that Wells Fargo?

neonzx wrote: ↑Tue Aug 02, 2022 3:32 pm

RTH10260 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 02, 2022 3:24 pm

U.S. Bank opened fake accounts for unsuspecting customers

Is this similar to another major bank which was opening new accounts and credit for existing customers unbeknownst to them in order for the bankers (sales people) under pressure from above to earn commissions? Was that Wells Fargo?

raison de arizona wrote: ↑Tue Aug 02, 2022 3:29 pm

"For over a decade, U.S. Bank knew its employees were taking advantage of its customers by misappropriating consumer data to create fictitious accounts,"

Is that criminal? I feel like that should be criminal. Letting something like that go on for so long is pretty bad.

Tiredretiredlawyer wrote: ↑Thu Sep 29, 2022 6:12 pm Was the Causeway she mentioned the one that was destroyed by Nothing Burger Ian?

More than 2,000 Starbucks employees to go on 'Red Cup Rebellion' strike

The union says it is striking to protest the retaliation taken against union supporters nationwide. It is also protesting what it characterizes as the company's refusal to bargain with the union on a first labor deal. There are 264 stores that have voted in favor of union representation. But no contracts have yet been negotiated even at stores which voted nearly a year ago.

"This is to show them we're not playing around," said Tyler Keeling, a 26-year old union supporter who has worked at a Starbucks in Lakewood, California — near Los Angeles — for the last six years. "We're done with the their anti-union retaliation and them walking away from bargaining."

Keeling and other union supporters say that it was up to each individual store as to whether or not to participate in the nationwide strike. Many stores have staged brief strikes already over specific issues. But this is the first nationwide action.

"There's a lot of fear before a store decides to go on strike," said Michelle Eisen, an organizer of the first Starbucks store to vote in favor of the union last December. "Starbucks has been retaliating against union leaders across the country. But despite that fear, over 2,000 workers across the country are striking today and standing up for one another."

United Furniture Industries laid off all 2,700 workers while they were sleeping

By Lisa Fickenscher
November 25, 2022 5:22pm Updated

United Furniture Industries mysteriously laid off all of its 2,700 employees on Monday.

A big US furniture company this week fired all of its 2,700 employees while they were sleeping, telling them in texts and emails not to come to work the next day, according to reports.

The mass firing on Tuesday by United Furniture Industries, which makes budget-friendly sofas and recliners for Simmons Upholstery, left thousands of employees including truck drivers and factory workers in North Carolina, Mississippi and California unemployed just two days before Thanksgiving.

“At the instruction of the board of directors … we regret to inform you that due to unforeseen business circumstances, the company has been forced to make the difficult decision to terminate the employment of all its employees, effective immediately, on Nov. 21,” the company said in messages to employees.

“With the exception of over-the-road drivers that are out on delivery. Your layoff from the company is expected to be permanent and all benefits will be terminated immediately without provision of COBRA.”




https://nypost.com/2022/11/25/united-fu ... -sleeping/

RTH10260 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2022 4:57 pm

“With the exception of over-the-road drivers that are out on delivery. Your layoff from the company is expected to be permanent and all benefits will be terminated immediately without provision of COBRA.”

Employers may require individuals to pay for COBRA continuation coverage. Premiums cannot exceed the full cost of coverage, plus a 2 percent administration charge.

tek wrote: ↑Sun Nov 27, 2022 7:49 am seems odd to not offer COBRA, given that it probably doesn't cost the company anything:

Employers may require individuals to pay for COBRA continuation coverage. Premiums cannot exceed the full cost of coverage, plus a 2 percent administration charge.

Something seems strange here.