Starbucks faces a new battle with union officials
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There is more labor turmoil for Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) after the National Labor Relations Board alleged the coffee store operator violated U.S. labor law by withholding pay hikes and other benefits from stores that voted in favor of unionization.
The NLRB's Seattle office filed the complaint late Wednesday against Starbucks (SBUX), according to Associated Press. The complaint is based on charges filed by he Workers United union.
Starbucks (SBUX) has been trading allegations with the Workers United for much of the year against a backdrop that includes more than 220 U.S. Starbucks stores formally voting to unionize.
NLRB said in its latest complaint that Starbucks violated labor law by offering raises and benefits â including increased training, career development opportunities, expanded tipping and even looser dress code policies â only to non-union stores.
However, earlier in the year, Starbucks (SBUX) interim CEO Howard Schultz maintained that U.S. labor law requires union stores to negotiate their own contracts with the company.
"We do not have the same freedom to make these improvements at locations that have a union," stated Schultz on an earnings conference call.
Starbucks (SBUX) operates more than 9K company-owned stores in the U.S., which means the unionization push is still only a small percentage of the total store count.
On Wednesday, Starbucks (SBUX) informed workers at two locations that their stores will be closing, a move that the coffee chainâs union says is retaliation for organizing efforts.