Media that empowers working people – that's how we build a More Perfect Union.

Don't Miss a Video!

Access our exclusive reporting and rapid response actions directly in your inbox, so you don’t miss a beat in the fight for working people nationwide.

Be a part of a community backing up independent journalism with action.

Ideas

Have a story to tell or idea to share?
Email [email protected]
© 2021 More Perfect Union Action

Together we can build power for working people.

We’re asking questions that really matter, and telling the stories of people who really need to be seen and heard.

You can support our work by donating today.

Amount

Make It Monthly

Don't Miss a Video!

Access our exclusive reporting and rapid response actions directly in your inbox, so you don’t miss a beat in the fight for working people nationwide.

Be a part of a community backing up independent journalism with action.

Howard Schultz’s Own Foundation Decries Starbucks’ Treatment of Its Workers

By Ginny Keenan

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s foundation has released a report that rates Starbucks as one of the worst large employers in the country for worker advancement.

The Schultz Family Foundation published what it describes as an “unprecedented” study of economic outcomes for workers at America’s 250 largest companies, in partnership with Harvard Business School and The Burning Glass Institute. The study ranked major employers by how well they foster “economic mobility for workers,” including through opportunities for promotions and “the pay they offer in low- and middle-skill roles.”

Starbucks earned one of the lowest ratings in the study, placing it in the bottom 50 of the surveyed companies, beneath brands with notably poor reputations for worker treatment including Walmart and Dollar General. Within its industry category, Food and Health Retail, Starbucks ranked second to last, scoring 2.60, ahead of only McDonald’s, which scored 2.03. Costco, the leader in the category, received a 3.59.

The study gave each company an overall score based on nine measures related to topics like pay and internal job mobility. Starbucks received the lowest-possible ratings on three of the nine measures, including its wages and frequency of internal promotions. It also received low grades for employee retention and for creating “barriers to work” for applicants without a college degree.

The Schultz Family Foundation’s assessment of Starbucks is at odds with how Howard Schultz has described the company. Speaking to investors in May, Schultz said the company had a 50-year history of “leadership in wages and benefits” that reflected his “deep responsibility to our partners.” When Starbucks workers first began to unionize over a year ago, Schultz publicly stressed that he prioritized his employees’ satisfaction over shareholder profits. This echoed his 1999 memoir, where Schultz wrote that he believed if employees “had faith in me and my motives, they wouldn’t need a union.” 

But the report’s findings align more closely with what Starbucks workers have said since their organizing drive launched last year. Through their union, Starbucks Workers United, employees have pushed to address many of the issues reflected in Starbucks’ low rating, including advocating for wage increases and better employee retention measures. “We want Starbucks to be a place where workers can have sustainable careers and be rewarded for their years of hard work for the company,” the union’s website states

In response, Schultz has overseen an aggressive nationwide union-busting campaign that stalled the improvement of working conditions for employees. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) described Starbucks’ anti-union activity as “virulent, widespread and well-orchestrated.” Federal courts and regulators have repeatedly found that Starbucks has illegally surveilled, punished or fired employees for supporting the union, shuttered stores where workers had unionized, and refused to bargain in good faith as required by law.

“Starbucks has left behind the very values that drew many of us to the company in the first place,” said Starbucks barista and union organizer Michelle Eisen.

Nearly 270 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize in the past year, one of the fastest such drives in modern history, including five more locations in the last month in Arkansas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. The NLRB issued two complaints in recent weeks seeking a nationwide injunction on Starbucks’ anti-union activity. If federal judges side with the board, Starbucks will for the first time be barred by court order from anti-union activity nationwide, substantially increasing the potential penalties it could face for further union-busting.

The Latest

YouTube Thumbnail
The Man Corporate America Is Most Afraid Of
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
“I’m A Doctor: Corporate Greed Is Killing Your ER”
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
What Happened to Boeing?
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Chicago’s Radical Solution to End Homelessness
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
In This Town, Only The Rich Get Water
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
The Evil Company Buying Subway (And The Rest Of Your Favorite Chains)
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Ban Airbnb? This Town Found a Solution to the Housing Crisis
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
I Work For the King of Beers. I’m Paid Like a Peasant
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
EV Factory Jobs Are Worse Than You Think
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Corruption is Driving Up Your Electricity Bill
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
We Talked To Air Traffic Controllers. What We Heard Will Shock You.
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Why Day Care Costs More Than College
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Whistleblower Exposes Toxic Culture At Rivian
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Elizabeth Warren Warns of National Abortion Ban if GOP Wins in 2024
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
What Liberals Get Wrong About Trump Voters
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Legal Weed Is Being Ruined By Corporate Greed
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Why Going to the Pharmacy Sucks Now
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
5 Questions with AOC: Trump, Child Labor, Worker Uprisings
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
I build cars for a living and I can’t afford to buy one.
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
The End of Overdraft Fees Is Finally Happening
Read More