Labor unions end proxy fight at Starbucks after uproar over anti-Israel tweet
A coalition of labor unions ended its proxy fight at Starbucks — months after a social media post by union officials voiced “solidarity with Palestine,” triggering calls to boycott the coffee chain after Hamas terrorists massacred more than 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7.
Starbucks and the Strategic Organizing Center — which represents the Service Employees International Union, parent of Starbucks Workers United — said Wednesday they have agreed to work towards a “foundational framework on collective bargaining” as the unions withdrew three director candidates.
“We feel that now is the time to acknowledge the progress that has been made and to allow the company and its workers to focus on moving forward,” the SOC — which represents multiple North American labor unions and a combined 2.3 million workers — said in a press release Tuesday.
“As such, we are withdrawing our director nominations,” added the group, which has a small ownership stake of just 162 shares in the coffeehouse giant.
The SOC has said that its affiliated unions have millions of members with “hundreds of billions of dollars invested in pension plans with substantial Starbucks shareholdings,” according to CNBC.
The SOC launched its campaign to add three members to Starbucks’ 11-director board in November 2023, but backed down from the proxy fight this week after the Workers United union reported that the java giant is committed to “driving long-term value for all stakeholders.”
The SOC cited Starbucks’ “significant step” of providing unionized Workers United staffers with additional benefits, including credit card tipping, though these initatives were implemented back in May 2022.
Since then, more than 400 Starbucks stores have unionized, and the Seattle-based chain said it’s coughed up more than $240 million to quell union efforts.
Also in that time, Starbucks and Workers United have sued each other over the union’s right to use a logo that resembles Starbucks’ iconic twin-tailed siren logo.
That feud began with a pro-Palestinian social media post from a union account shortly after the Israel-Hamas conflict escalated in October, angering customers and damaging Starbucks’ reputation, the company claimed in its trademark infringement suit.
All the while, a regional office of the National Labor Relations Board raised complaints about Starbucks closing nearly two dozen locations either because staffers have already unionized or because the company wanted to prevent them from doing so.
As a result, federal regulators could force Starbucks to reopen its 23 locations in question across multiple major US cities. The case is scheduled to go before a judge this summer.
“Starbucks has always been committed to doing the right thing — importantly, for our partners who are the heart of our business,” Starbucks said in a statement in response to the coalition’s decision.
Still, “we think it’s imperative that shareholders continue to monitor the board’s performance and Starbucks’ approach to labor relations issues in the coming months — and we plan to continue to hold the company accountable going forward,” the SOC said in the release.
Representatives for the SOC did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
