Labor Unions End Starbucks Board Fight

A coalition of labor unions said Tuesday that it had ended its boardroom fight with Starbucks after the coffeehouse chain agreed to negotiate labor agreements, a sign of progress after years of tumultuous relations between the company and its organized workers.

The Strategic Organizing Center union alliance pulled its slate of three board candidates about a week before a March 11 shareholder vote on the 11-member board. The announcement comes more than two years into a campaign that has unionized nearly 400 Starbucks stores.

On Tuesday, the alliance said it was “time to acknowledge the progress that has been made and to allow the company and its workers to focus on moving forward.”

“We think it’s imperative that shareholders continue to monitor the board’s performance and Starbucks’ approach to labor relations issues in the coming months — and we plan to continue to hold the company accountable going forward,” the alliance said.

The decision to nominate board members was the unions’ latest attempt to push the company to engage with them.

Starbucks workers began organizing in 2021 with three Buffalo-area stores. Since that campaign began, the National Labor Relations Board has filed numerous complaints accusing Starbucks of taking steps to resist organizing efforts, which the company has denied. According to the union alliance, Starbucks has spent more than $240 million to quash union efforts. The two parties have also sued each other over the union’s right to use a logo that resembles the Starbucks logo.

Starbucks and the union that represents its workers, Workers United, whose parent is part of the labor alliance, said late last month that they were beginning discussions about a “foundational framework” to help reach labor agreements and resolve litigation over the union’s use of the Starbucks logo.

The union alliance said in a statement on Tuesday that it had since had “meaningful dialogue” with shareholders who it says are optimistic that the company is focused on repairing its relationship with its workers. Starbucks shareholders last year passed a resolution directing the company to commission an assessment of its labor practices.

“Our board’s focus remains on driving long-term value for all stakeholders, including partners, shareholders, customers and farmers,” Starbucks said in a statement on Tuesday.

The news was reported earlier by Reuters.

Two influential advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, recommended last week that shareholders vote for management board nominees, in part because the parties announced they would resume talks.

The alliance’s nominees were not expected to win spots on the board. Analysts at Gordon Haskett wrote in a note last week that the vote was essentially “a referendum on the company’s labor policies and, more specifically, the resources SBUX has spent to frustrate union attempts to organize.”