Starbucks is once again coming under fire on Twitter and elsewhere for their treatment of workers who want to unionize. The coffee giant, as CBS News reports, just introduced new “financial-focused employee benefits” last week. However, there is a notable catch— only non-unionized workers can obtain them.
BREAKING: Starbucks announces multiple new benefits for U.S. workers—except those at unionizing stores.
NLRB prosecutors last month charged Starbucks with illegally withholding pay/benefits from workers at hundreds of union stores.
Starbucks is doubling down on the illegality.
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) September 12, 2022
Starbucks is now adding benefits exclusively for non-unionized workers.
This is AFTER the NLRB called the company out for illegally withholding raises from unionized workers.
Starbucks’ anti-union schemes are absolutely shameless.
There is no limit to how low they will go.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) September 13, 2022
The chain just outlined two new efforts to supposedly aid workers with their finances. The first is My Starbucks Savings, which aims to allow workers to contribute a portion of their pay to a personal savings account through Fidelity Investments. The second is a program called Student Loan Management Benefit, which will give employees access to resources as well as individual coaching to help manage student loan debt.
Starbucks announced new benefits including loan management tools — but is excluding U.S. workers who are union members.
230+ stores have voted to unionize. Regulators say denying benefits to union workers is illegal.
The CEO made $20.4 million in 2021, 340x the average barista. pic.twitter.com/XPDvhJMtMr
— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 13, 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Leaked documents reveal that on Monday Starbucks will end its Covid pay policy and deny union members new sick leave benefits.
Starbucks has already been charged with illegally withholding new pay/benefits from unionized stores. https://t.co/QN0RQ00v6W
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) September 18, 2022
In addition, it is designed to assist with refinancing and repayment options, according to Starbucks. “As we reinvent the future of Starbucks, together with our partners, we knew we had an opportunity to further support the financial well-being of our partners and their families,” Ron Crawford, senior vice president Total Rewards at Starbucks, said in a recent announcement.
Let’s be clear.
1. Starbucks would not have implemented new benefits without the union campaign. PERIOD.
2. Union workers WILL receive these benefits in back pay and workers WILL continue to win additional improvements at the bargaining table.
— SBWorkersUnited (@SBWorkersUnited) August 2, 2022
This of course is not the first time that Starbucks has withheld benefits or as some Twitter users are writing “mistreated” employees who wished to join a union. Earlier in 2022, Starbucks CEO Howards Schultz claimed in an online forum that Starbucks would not be able to offer new benefits or wage increases to unionized employees. He said this was due to U.S. labor law, which CBS News writes “requires companies to separately negotiate pay and benefits with unions.”
BIG NEWS: The NLRB issued a Complaint yesterday alleging Starbucks ILLEGALLY withheld new wage & benefit improvements from union stores.
The complaint calls out CEO Howard Schultz BY NAME and calls on him to record a video reading us our rights as workers and apologize.
— SBWorkersUnited (@SBWorkersUnited) August 25, 2022
However, as the Associated Press reported last month, the Seattle office of the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint in August. They said that Starbucks was in fact “in violation of the law” by failing to offer wage increases and other benefits to their unionized workers. Starbucks Workers United, the union, then said that 300 protesters picketed outside of the Starbucks Investor Day meetings last week, according to AP.
