Starbucks CEO’s message to workers; “if you have faith in me you don’t need a union”

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.examiner.com/x-2071-DC-Special-Interests-Examiner~y2009m2d17-Starbucks-CEOs-message-to-workers-if-you-have-faith-in-me-you-dont-need-a-union


February 17, 6:54 AM
by Ron Moore

Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks repeated a common retort in opposition to workers organizing to improve their lives: "I was convinced that under my leadership, employees would come to realize that I would listen to their concerns," Schultz wrote of that time in his book "Pour Your Heart Into It." "If they had faith in me and my motives, they wouldn't need a union."
In a report by Andrea James in the Seattle Post Intelligencer Starbucks is still fighting vigorously to bust unions.

A 1999 attempt to unionize Starbucks roasting-plant workers in Kent led to a two-year struggle for a contract. "They were doing union busting," said John Thompson, current president of International Union of Operating Engineers local 286. "All of the HR department that was hiring, their questions were, 'Have you ever belonged to a union, has any of your family members belonged to a union, or has any of your friends belonged to a union?' If you said yes to you or your family, at any time, you were never even considered for employment."

That bargaining unit dissolved. Thompson said Starbucks was the "worst employer we ever had. They basically did anything and everything in their power to keep the unions out.

The battle over the Employee Free Choice Act comes down to one central issue: who chooses? Some companies without a union treat their employees well; they foster a culture of mutual respect and are often placed on “best workplaces” lists by the corporate media. But it is management’s choice to foster that culture; a one sided power structure. Union organizers occasionally speak with workers who love their bosses and don’t see the need to organize. But what if the boss leaves, what if things change?


FULL story at link.

[Xipe Totec]

1. If you trust your workers, let them unionize n/t

[baldguy]

2. If they have faith in him then they'll buy stock. A union ensures he treats his employees right.

TWO DIFFERENT THINGS

[mediaman007]

3. Set them free and they shall be yours.

[Deja Q]

9. Yup. Fire the employees and set up privatized prison camps for when they loot and pillage.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

4. tell that to the employees at seattle corp who had their jobs eliminated, and

were targeted because had 15+ years in, only to see their jobs replaced by non benefited contact labor. Most of them haven't been able to become re-employed due to the bad job market, such a reward for total devotion to a company during the boom years. The board of directors should remove Shultz.

[defendandprotect]

5. Starbucks or a Union ...? Take the UNION . . .!!!

[47of74]

6. I have found that those who say such things often are not deserving of trust

[Earth Bound Misfit]

7. This is a standard Unionbusting tactic

Great Post.:kick: & R

I call it the "We are Fam-a-lee" ploy. From John Logan's "Consultants, Lawyers and the Union-Free Movement in the United States Since the 1970s":

TIMING OF THE COUNTER ORGANIZING CAMPAIGN

The consultant times the employer campaign to ensure that anti-union sentiment peaks just before the election.Management organizes a final captive speech 24 hours prior to the election (final day speeches are illegal) stressing that it has made mistakes,.....and asks that it be given 'another chance'.

snip

The message to employees is that though mgmt. is not perfect,it...shares their fate, while the Union is an outside 'business'interested only in their dues money...Thus,instead of voting to rid themselves of one boss, employees will be voting in a second boss...

FWIW, I HIGHLY recommend reading the entire report.

About John Logan:


John Logan
Director of Research


John Logan is the Director of Research at the Labor Center. Previously he taught employment relations and international and comparative human resource management at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He received his Ph.D. in U.S. History and Labor History at University of California-Davis in 2000. John is an expert in U.S. labor law as well as labor law in other industrialized countries. He has written extensively about the "union avoidance" industry in the United States and is currently completing a manuscript for a book entitled "Union Free": Employer Opposition, Public Policy and the Decline of Private-Sector Unionism in the United States. John has studied labor law reform efforts that took place during the Clinton Administration and is now examining issues related to the debate over the Employee Free Choice Act. His research has been cited extensively in Congressional hearings on labor law reform, and in December 2007, he testified before the U.S. Congress on the crisis in union recognition and collective bargaining in the United States.

Edit for clarity

[Earth Bound Misfit]

8. About John Logan link doesn't work.

Correct link:
http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/staff/logan.shtml