US President Joe Biden speaks about economic growth, employment, and deficit reduction at the Roosevelt Room on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.
Demetrius Freeman | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Starbucks President Joe Biden is asking the White House for a meeting after meeting with an organizer who is helping to consolidate coffee shops.
The president met with 39 national labor leaders, including Chris Smalls, on Thursday. Amazon Laura Garza, the union leader of the Trade Union and Starbucks New York City Roastery. Biden was a supporter of the union’s voice, from the trajectory of the campaign to his time in the Oval Office, while prominent workers in companies such as: Amazon, Apple And Condé Nast are getting a lot of attention.
AJ Jones, Head of Global Communications and Public Relations at Starbucks, wrote in a letter Thursday that he was deeply concerned about the decision not to invite company representatives.
“We believe that this lack of representation downplays the reality that the majority of our partners are against being a member of the union and the union tactics being developed by the Workers’ Union.” Jones wrote in a letter. Steve Ricketti, One of Biden’s closest advisors. “As you know, American workers have the absolute right to decide whether to unite or not, without undue influence.”
As of Wednesday, six Starbucks locations voted against unionization. However, more than 50 Starbucks cafe baristas across the United States have voted in favor of unionization under Workers United for the past six months. Approximately 200 cafes are still waiting for their elections or have heard their votes counted.
Jones called for a meeting at the White House, seeking an opportunity to introduce the Biden administration to workers who have a different perspective than the union. The White House representative did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Starbucks is campaigning to curb the spread of unions across coffee shops. The Workers’ Union has filed more than 100 unfair labor practice complaints against the company, alleging illegal retaliation and harassment. The National Labor Relations Board has filed at least three proceedings against Starbucks. The company denied these allegations, but filed two unique complaints against Workers United.
Tuesday, Starbucks He said he would spend $ 1 billion in 2022 About investing in the store and workers. These investments include raising wages for incumbent employees, doubling training for new employees, and adding tips to debit and credit card users.
“These benefits, including those we have requested since the launch of the campaign, are in response to our organizational efforts and we need to celebrate the efforts of our partners. [CEO] Howard Schultz’s bullying was done to make this happen, “the Starbucks Workers’ Union Organizing Committee told CNBC on Tuesday in a statement. “Most of the proposed profits were proposed at the Buffalo negotiation table.”
Schultz himself was openly flirtatious about running for president independently for the 2020 elections.
