Illegal union-busting is outrageously common, this week in the war on workers

Laura Clawson for Daily Kos Labor

Daily Kos Staff

Saturday February 04, 2023 · 3:55 PM PST

2023/02/04 · 15:55

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 19: Activists participate in an event dubbed the Un-Birthday Party and picket line for Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on July 19, 2022 in New York City. Activists gathered near Schultz's West Village home on his 75th birthday to protest the treatment of Starbucks workers attempting to unionize, as well as Schultz's recent announcement to permanently close 16 locations. The company has stated that the closing of the stores, which are mostly located on the West Coast, is due to safety concerns. However, Starbucks Workers United, the union representing the baristas, has filed a labor complaint claiming that the store closures is an act of retaliation. Over 100 of the company's 9,000 U.S. stores have voted or are in the process of voting to unionize since a Buffalo, New York location became the first to join a union at the end of 2021. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) — Starbucks is making itself synonymous with illegal union-busting, but it's far from alone

TAGS

Labor
Unions

Edit Tags

Tag History

Done Editing Tags

Tens of millions of people who would like to be in a union aren’t. So what gives?

This: Management is alleged to break the law (labor law, so it’s treated as if it really doesn’t count) in 39% of union elections, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis of National Labor Relations Board election data from 2019 to 2022. How so?

Depending if you use a narrow or a broad definition of illegal firings conducted during union drives, they happen in anywhere from 14% to 24% of union elections.
Employers were charged with illegally coercing, threatening, or retaliating against union supporters in 27% of union elections.

These things were more, not less, common in cases where the bargaining unit would involve 50 or more workers, which even means that it’s not mostly Starbucks management.

● More on how the fast food industry lied to voters to keep a pro-worker law from going into effect. Suhauna Hussain reports at the Los Angeles Times.

● Apple officials violated worker rights, labor officials say. That’s from Josh Eidelson at Bloomberg.

●

BREAKING: 3,200 student workers at Johns Hopkins have won their vote to unionize with @TRUhopkins. A stunning 97% of the workers voted yes.
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) February 1, 2023

●

Interesting development today at an REI store in Cleveland where workers filed for a union election. The company sought to challenge the election, potentially extending the process for weeks. Workers walked off the job this morning. REI backed down. Election is set for Mar. 3. 1/ pic.twitter.com/WrltZR9J9X
— Noam Scheiber (@noamscheiber) February 3, 2023

Sign and send the petition to Starbucks company leadership and board: Stop union-busting and sign the Fair Election Principles.

Listen to this episode of The Downballot for an in-depth analysis of the 2024 Arizona Senate race and the implications of Kyrsten Sinema's re-election decision. Special guest Victoria McGroary, the Executive Director of BOLD PAC, will also discuss the efforts to prevent losses among Hispanic voters and the fight against disinformation in Spanish language media.

Embedded Content

Illegal union-busting is outrageously common, this week in the war on workers

Comments are closed on this story.