Starbucks and a union organizing the company’s U.S. workers have agreed to start discussions on a “foundational framework” with the aim of achieving collective bargaining agreements, the two sides announced on Tuesday.
“Starbucks and Workers United have a shared commitment to establishing a positive relationship in the interests of Starbucks partners,” Starbucks said in a Feb. 27 statement.
The company said that during talks about ongoing brand and intellectual property litigation, “a constructive path” emerged on the future nationwide labor campaign that began in 2021.
Both sides have agreed to start discussions on a framework designed to achieve collective bargaining agreements, including a fair process for organizing and the resolution of some outstanding litigation.
Starbucks said that “as a sign of good faith,” it agreed to provide workers at unionized stores with the benefits first announced in May 2022, including the ability to receive customer tips from credit card transactions.
Workers United echoed those remarks in a separate statement it posted on X.
Sara Kelly, chief partner officer at Starbucks, said that the coffee chain is committed to delivering its “partner promise” and “to restitching the fabric of the green apron for all partners at Starbucks.”
“There is a lot of work ahead, but this is an important, positive step. It is a clear demonstration of our intent to build a constructive relationship with Workers United in the interests of our partners,” she stated.
The announcement is a remarkable turn in a contentious battle that saw both sides accusing the other of improper and unlawful conduct.
In December last year, Starbucks sent a letter to Workers United stating its desire to resume bargaining talks “with the goal of reaching agreements in reasonable time frames.”
“We are proposing that bargaining resume with a set of representative stores in January 2024, and we are open to hearing other ideas and rules of engagement on how bargaining could proceed,” the letter said.
Workers United has filed hundreds of complaints with the National Labor Relations Board accusing Starbucks of illegal labor practices, including threatening and firing union supporters and shuttering stores to prevent unionizing. The labor board and several federal courts have ruled that Starbucks violated U.S. labor law.
Starbucks has denied wrongdoing accused the union of trademark infringement for using the company’s circular green logo as the basis for its own branding, and claiming it encouraged workers to violate company policies.
