Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has denied union-busting in his most pointed public comments yet on the ongoing feud between unions and the US coffee giant.
Labor officials have repeatedly found that the company violated federal laws in its response, including wrongfully firing workers.
Mr Schultz, who resigned as chief this month, has been ordered to appear before Congress to answer for the findings.
He “clearly” denied the allegations.
“These are allegations and Starbucks has not broken the law,” Mr. Schultz said, adding that the disputes are still pending in court.
While Republicans have largely refrained from criticism, Democrats have questioned Mr. Schultz’s claims that the company respects workers’ rights.
“It’s like someone who gets a ticket for speeding 100 times and says I’ve never broken the law because the cop was wrong every time,” said Senator Chris Murphy. “That would not be a credible claim.”
The two-hour hearing in Washington comes more than a year after baristas at a Buffalo Starbucks coffee shop voted to form a union, a move since taken by more than 270 stores representing 7,000 people.
Starbucks has spoken out strongly against the campaign, which has sparked debate about inequality and the workings of capitalism, and threatened to tarnish the company’s reputation as a progressive employer.
- Starbucks illegally fired workers over union – judge
- “Starbucks fired me for being three minutes late”
Mr Schultz, who ran the company for years and returned as chief executive last year, defended his practices, saying the union represents a tiny fraction of the company’s more than 9,000 US stores and the company has the right to share its preference which it has a “direct relationship” with its employees.
He said the company offers best-in-class benefits, including average hourly wages above $17, access to health insurance, tuition assistance and stock grants.
“This is unprecedented and that’s why we don’t need a union,” he said. Mr. Schultz, who remains a Starbucks board member, later challenged lawmakers, “Are you aware of a union contract that offers these benefits?”
At times the hearing became irritated when Mr. Schultz, who grew up in public housing and flirted with the presidential nominee, balked at characterizations that he was a heartless “billionaire.”
“I came from nothing,” he said, adding that he earned his fortune, which Forbes estimates at around $3.7 billion. “It is unfair.”
Democrats urged Mr. Schultz to explain why union members and the company have yet to agree contracts and refused to extend pay rises and other perks given to non-union workers over the past year.
He said the company has met dozens of times and is willing to negotiate with workers, but does not want to negotiate over video calls for fear it cannot confirm who is attending.
He said the company does not need to extend benefits during negotiations and does not want to negotiate a contract “piece by piece”.
Republicans focused their questions on whether labor officials were biased against the company, calling the hearing called by Senator Bernie Sanders a “smear campaign.”
“I’m not here to defend Starbucks, I have my own questions about the alleged wrongdoing, and the law should be followed and upheld, but make no mistake about it – this is not a fair and impartial hearing,” the Republican senator said Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
Mr. Schultz’s two-hour testimony was followed by a panel discussion that also included workers involved in the campaign.
Add Comment