Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has asked Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz to answer accusations before a Senate committee that the coffee chain is routinely violating federal regulations in its efforts to halt a store-by-store unionization drive.
In a letter sent last week, Schultz was given until the end of Feb. 14 to respond to the request for testimony on March 9 before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, or HELP, which Sanders now chairs.
The terse note was signed by all 11 Democrats on the committee but announced by Sanders’ office. The March 9 hearings will focus on ”the company’s lack of compliance with Federal labor laws,” the press announcement reads.
According to Sanders’ staff, 500 allegations of violating federal unionization laws have been filed against Starbucks. It also reported that the National Labor Relations Board has questioned the propriety of Starbucks’ response 75 times, leading to five court injunctions against the brand.
Starbucks has routinely denied all accusations of acting illegally or unfairly toward Starbucks Workers United, the labor group that now represents the baristas working in about 270 stores.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch quoted Sanders as saying he’ll seek a subpoena for Schultz if the restaurant executive ignores or refuses the request to testify next month. That indication could not be independently verified.
Schultz has not publicly responded to three other communications from Sanders regarding Starbucks’ response to being unionized. The letters began when Schultz resumed the CEO’s post from a suddenly retiring Kevin Johnson after employees at what were then several dozen Starbucks units disclosed plans to organize.
In mid-December of 2021, two stores in Buffalo, N.Y., voted to be represented by Starbucks Workers United. A flurry of stores opted in the weeks and months immediately afterward to organize as well, with just a handful of staffs voting to remain independent.
That rush to unionize has slowed appreciably in more recent weeks. The tally of organized stores has remained at about 270 for some time.
About 80 stores have either voted not to unionize or are awaiting a date to be set for a vote.
Starbucks has yet to indicate if Schultz intends to accept the offer to testify before HELP. The invitational letter indicates that the executive would be given about five minutes for opening remarks, with questions to follow.
Sanders was named chairman of HELP during the recent assignment of leadership roles in the current Congress. Although the Vermont lawmaker is a registered independent, he usually votes in accordance with Democrats.
The Democrats secured control of the Senate in the 2022 elections.
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