Starbucks CEO Steps Down, Biddeford Workers Fight Back

On Monday, Starbucks founder and interim CEO Howard Schultz stepped down for a third time. The move was made right before he was scheduled to testify under oath before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee to answer questions about the company’s rampant union busting.

The news came after a series of wins for workers. Earlier this month a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) administrative judge issued a ruling against the company for engaging in “egregious and widespread misconduct demonstrating a general disregard for the employees’ fundamental rights” in Buffalo, New York.

At the same time, dozens of white collar workers at the company signed a petition on March 1 calling on Starbucks to reverse a return-to-work mandate, commit to a policy of neutrality in union elections and respect for labor laws and allow employees to “decide for themselves, free from fear, coercion and intimidation."

"Starbucks is making headlines and attracting Senate attention for tampering with the federal right of store partners to have fair elections, free from fear, coercion, and intimidation,” the letter stated, adding, “We love Starbucks, but these actions are fracturing rust in Starbucks leadership…. Moral is at an all-time low, and the brand reputation and financial value of this publicly traded company are at risk."

Workers at 292 US Starbucks stores have unionized with Starbucks Workers United despite the company spending millions of dollars to defeat them. The National Labor Relations Board has issued over 70 complaints against the company, which faces more than 1,200 alleged violations.

In a recent op-ed in the Maine Beacon, Biddeford Starbucks barista Cyr Cronin said the company continues to refuse to come to the bargaining table and it continues to wage its war on workers’ rights there. In December, the company shut down its Old Port location, which was previously the only other unionized Starbucks in Maine.

And despite a recent settlement with the NLRB, Starbucks’ Alfred Street location in Biddeford continues to unlawfully block workers from displaying union information in the store. In response, Biddeford Starbucks Workers United members sent a letter to Starbucks District Manager Ben Persenaire on Sunday detailing these ongoing labor violations.

“We make the Biddeford store run every day. We demand respect and dignity and the constant backlash has not broken our spirit,” the workers wrote. “We are going to continue the fight to unionize more stores as a collective unit and we will continue until our voices are heard and respected. It is time for you to halt the union busting tactics and accept that you cannot stop the movement. Our hope is that you will get used to saying the name Starbucks Workers United, because we are here to stay.”