Starbucks Requests Equal Time With The White House After Biden Meets With Union Leaders

Starbucks Corp has requested a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration after unionized staff met with White House officials on Thursday, stating in a statement that the majority of its workers do not wish to join a union.

Separately, an officer with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint on Friday alleging alleged violations of U.S. labor law by Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) against union members. Starbucks stated that the charges contained in the complaint are untrue and meritless.

Starbucks expressed "great concern" in a letter to the White House, dated Thursday and revealed on Friday, that Workers United, which is organizing hundreds of U.S. Starbucks outlets, was invited to a meeting without Starbucks officials. White House officials declined to respond.

On Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden met with workers and labor organizers aiming to represent Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Starbucks, and other firms' employees.

Christian Smalls, leader of the Amazon Labor Union, and Laura Garza, a Starbucks employee working with Workers United, were among the attendees.

During the discussion, Biden reportedly stated, "When I ran for president, I pledged to be the most pro-labor, pro-union president in American history," according to video extracts released by the White House on Friday.

Starbucks stated in the letter that its lack of representation "disregards the fact that the majority of our partners oppose union membership and Workers United's unionization techniques." The coffee chain's baristas and other employees are referred to as partners.

Workers at more than 50 U.S. Starbucks cafés have chosen to join Workers United, while five outlets have voted against the union, out of over 240 that have held elections since August. Workers United is a Service Employees International Union affiliate.

Starbucks said, "We have a significantly more optimistic outlook for our partners and our organization than Workers United."

Workers United tweeted a message from Garza, who stated that Starbucks' reaction was "heartbreaking to read." She stated that she was honored to represent all Starbucks partners, union or not, at the conference.

In a complaint accessed by Reuters, the regional director for Buffalo, New York, of the National Labor Relations Board cited allegations presented to the agency by Workers United, including assertions that Starbucks threatened, dismissed, and conducted surveillance on union members in the state.

Regional Director Linda M. Leslie's lawsuit asserts that Starbucks' conduct, as alleged in the claims, violates the National Labor Relations Act. On July 11, a judge from the NLRB will hold a hearing regarding the claims, according to the lawsuit.

Starbucks stated in a statement that the complaint raises significant concerns but "does not establish an NLRB conclusion."

They added: "It is the start of a legal proceeding that allows both parties to be heard and present evidence. We think that the allegations in the complaint are untrue, and we look forward to presenting our evidence when the charges are adjudicated."