Starbucks employees continued to endorse collective bargaining at an 80 percent rate this year, expanding their union’s membership to more than 7,650 workers across more than 300 stores.
The nationwide surge in Starbucks (ticker symbol SBUX) unionization is all the more impressive because it has overcome a costly and brazenly unlawful onslaught of unfair labor practices.
SBUX’ labor law violations draw from the anti-worker playbook of the “union avoidance” consulting industry. American companies spend more than $400 million annually on union-busting campaigns, according to Labor Department data analyzed by the Economic Policy Institute.
Union avoidance consultants report being paid $350-plus hourly rates or $2,500-plus daily rates for their work to defeat union organizing efforts.
The consultants claim that the tactics they recommend , including bullying, disinformation, and spurious firings of pro-union workers, comprise legitimate exercises of corporate rights.
But Starbucks employees and federal regulators disagree:
“Days before high school graduation, Starbucks fired Katie for union organizing. She was 17, working as a barista, and living in her car. Her plans for a new apartment and college were put on hold. Now, Starbucks may have to pay her tens of thousands of dollars.” — Source: More Perfect Union
Despite SBUX’ unfair tactics, Starbucks workers have won collective bargaining rights across 36 states and 199 cities:
Congress attempted to bring transparency to the shadowy union avoidance industry by mandating disclosure of their fees under section 302(c) of the 1947 Labor Management Relations Act.
But loopholes in the law, as well as enforcement limits, severely restrict the scope of mandatory employer union-avoidance expense reporting.
One of the most important gaps in the law allows companies to hide the cost of “advice” anti-union consultants provide.
The Obama administration tried to shine more light on union-busting skullduggery by proposing a regulation known as the “persuader” rule.
“Although 71 to 87 percent of employers hire consultants to manage counter-organizing campaigns, the [Labor] Department has received very few reports on these activities because employers deemed them to fall under the ‘advice’ exemption,” according to the Obama administration proposal.
Pro-business lobbies sued to block enforcement of the persuader rule. The Trump administration rescinded it.
One effect of the persuader rule would be to strengthen unions’ clout when bargaining for higher pay and improved benefits. Employers routinely claim they can’t afford to increase pay and benefits.
Disclosure of lavish corporate spending on union-busting consultants would help unions expose that myth.
Despite SBUX’ relentless assault on collective bargaining, its employees continue to campaign for workplace fairness.
Currently, there are 30 elections that have been filed but not yet run.
The union likely will win 24 of these elections and expand by another 610 workers. It then will represent more than 8,260 Starbucks employees at 325 stores.