The National Labor Relations Board charged Starbucks of unlawfully depriving thousands of unionised employees of salary and benefits in a complaint submitted on Wednesday.
The National Labor Relations Board is requesting that interim CEO Howard Schultz give a letter to employees regarding their freedom to organise as well as back pay and benefits for baristas who unionised in May.
The NLRB, a federal organisation in charge of enforcing American labour laws, asserts that the coffee chain’s withholding of incentives to union employees was done to prevent attempts at organising.
The accusation comes amid a nationwide union effort at Starbucks shops, which management has resisted, claiming the business functions best when dealing directly with its employees.
A Starbucks representative denied the NLRB’s allegations in an email response.
The business had said that it is “committed to negotiating in good faith” in a statement from July. “The law is clear, once a store unionises, no benefits modifications are permitted without good faith collective bargaining,” the statement said.
Since late last year, more than 230 of the coffee chain’s sites have chosen to unionise.
In May, Schultz announced salary increases and longer training hours for its more than 10,000 corporate-owned shops, but excluded those that had just been unionised or were in the midst of an election.
For nonunion employees employed before May 2, the pay raises, which went into effect on August 1, raised hourly rates to $15 an hour or by 3%, whichever was higher. More pay was given to those who have worked at Starbucks for at least two years.
“Howard Schultz decided to deny us a salary at a time when living expenses are soaring. In reality, Howard Schultz is a wealthy bully who is doing everything in his power to suppress workers’ rights, Maggie Carter, a barista from Knoxville, Tennessee, said in a statement on behalf of Starbucks Workers United on Thursday. “He claims to run a ‘different kind of company,’ but in reality Howard Schultz is just that,” she said.
Independent senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders also criticised Starbucks.
“I’ve had enough. The senator tweeted, “Billionaire Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz must halt his attack on his workers, recognise the union, and negotiate a first contract.
Starbucks has until October 25 to resolve the dispute, after which an administrative law judge will convene a hearing.
The NLRB’s accusations against Starbucks are only the most recent ones; back in June, the organisation was charged with utilising a “array of improper techniques” against employees who were engaged in unionisation activities. Starbucks has always denied accusations that it used unethical methods.
A federal court ordered the corporation to reinstate seven workers who had been dismissed while organising a union drive in Memphis, Tennessee, last week in response to a case brought by an NLRB regional director. Starbucks said that it terminated the employees because they broke company safety and security regulations, and it promised to challenge the decision.