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Starbucks is ‘choosing to fight tooth and nail’: Labor union president

Starbucks reported record quarterly revenue in fiscal Q4, but the strain of ongoing unionization efforts remains.

As of Friday, there are 320 Starbucks locations that have conducted unionization ballot counts. Of those, 257 have voted yes to unionize, 57 have voted no, and 6 are challenge-determinative. Of those that voted yes, 248 have been certified, and Starbucks is expected to begin bargaining in good faith with the union, according to the National Labor Relations Board.

However, a spokesperson from Starbucks Workers United, told Yahoo Finance in an email that "Starbucks has not begun to bargain in good faith."

A recent release from Starbucks Workers United claimed that "after very publicly announcing their intention to bargain at over 200 unionized stores, [Starbucks] walked out of bargaining rooms in Buffalo, Ann Arbor, Louisville, Chicago, and Lakewood, CA, yesterday due to the presence of a simple zoom room. After previously engaging in completely virtual bargaining and hybrid bargaining with no issue, the company suddenly took issue with the format, and only lasted 5 minutes at the table before storming out of the Elmwood negotiation conference room and hosting a company-side caucus for over two and a half hours."

'Direct relationship'

"As you heard from the company, we truly believe a side by side relationship with our partners is the very best path forward, but we respect the [unionization] process. What we're focused on is continuing to create the very best experience for our partners. We know that that has worked for the last 50 years, and we're confident it actually underpins the success of our new era of growth, so that's where we're focused, and that's where our intention is ... directly spent," Starbucks CFO Rachel Ruggeri told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview.

BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 30:
Michelle Eisen and Jaz Brisack chat, leaving the Starbucks Workers United organizing office after a bargaining training discussion led by Richard Bensinger over Zoom in Buffalo on January 30, 2022. (Photo by Libby March for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 30: Michelle Eisen and Jaz Brisack chat, leaving the Starbucks Workers United organizing office after a bargaining training discussion led by Richard Bensinger over Zoom in Buffalo on January 30, 2022. (Photo by Libby March for The Washington Post via Getty Images) (The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Mary Kay Henry, international president of the Service Employees International Union, however, disagrees.

"If that were the case, then workers would be at a bargaining table and being able to have a say directly on the job, and instead Starbucks is choosing to fight tooth and nail, close stores when people unionize ... We really welcome the day when the CFO's comments are the reality with Starbucks because the partners love that company and they want a seat at the table and a voice on the job and to be respected, protected, and paid what they're worth," she said.

Henry noted that unionization efforts are gaining steam across the country.

"The norm in the U.S. economy is for corporations to resist workers who want to join together and we're seeing a historic wave of unionization efforts that I believe are driving wages up ... I think that's why we're going to continue to see workers joining together at Starbucks, Amazon, fast food, airports, and across the service and care sector, because people want to turn poverty-wage jobs into good jobs that they can raise their families on."

Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.

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