Starbucks criticizes Biden's visit with union leaders, requests White House meeting

[SouthBayDem]

Source: CNBC

Starbucks is asking the White House for a meeting after President Joe Biden met with an organizer who is helping its coffee shops unionize.

The president met with 39 national labor leaders on Thursday, including Christian Smalls, who heads the Amazon Labor Union, and Laura Garza, a union leader at Starbucks’ New York City Roastery. Biden has been a vocal supporter of unions, from the campaign trail to his time in the Oval Office, during a time when high-profile labor drives at companies such as Amazon, Apple and Conde Nast are making headlines.

A.J. Jones, Starbucks’ head of global communications and public affairs, wrote in a letter Thursday that the decision to not invite any representatives from the company was deeply concerning.

“We believe this lack of representation discounts the reality that the majority of our partners oppose being members of a union and the unionization tactics being deployed by Workers United,” Jones wrote in the letter to Steve Ricchetti, one of Biden’s closest advisors. “As you know, American workers have the absolute right to decide for themselves to unionize, or not to unionize, without any undue influences.”

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/06/starbucks-criticizes-biden-visit-with-union-leaders-requests-white-house-meeting.html

[ancianita]

1. Ooooo corporate management is mad that the president supports workers.

Biden will give them audience and then remind them where their profits come from.

[Magoo48]

17. You're kind.

I suggest he tell Starbucks to go the fuck away and that he’ll talk to them when they are unionized worldwide.

[LudwigPastorius]

2. Re: Starbucks crying about "lack of representation"

They're conveniently forgetting the Republican congressmen they, and every other corporation, have in their pockets.

Joe's just trying to level the playing field the tiniest bit.

[AllaN01Bear]

21. i have never met a prez. id love to have biden come see me. pox on starbucks

[Beartracks]

3. Ha ha! "Undue influences"... like union-busting?

[Hekate]

4. I like Joe Biden. I really like Joe.

[FreepFryer]

5. Corporate personhood doesn't mean corporate whiny bitchiness. Grow up and Go Union, Starbucks.

[LittleGirl]

6. Happy to report

I have never spent one nickel at Starbucks. As soon as I step into one of their stores, I smell burnt coffee and yuck.

[OldBaldy1701E]

10. Which is why, within the barista circles, they are known as 'Charbucks'!

I am also with you in that I do not recall ever spending a cent in one. I prefer my coffee to be decent, not disgustingly exploitative.... thank you. I spent almost six years as a barista and I can tell you that littlegirl is correct. The way they can get their product to survive long enough to ship it across the nation is that they burn the hell out of them when they are roasted. Rancid stuff. In my opinion.

[IronLionZion]

11. Overroasting also hides the low quality of cheap beans

It's a terrible strategy. They're counting on people loading it up with flavor syrups or whatever. Other coffee companies manage to ship their beans across the country with medium or lighter roasts without much problem.

[OldBaldy1701E]

16. I know right?

And, you are correct, that is why they load them up with sugary stuff as well as flavors. But, they are still absolutely huge coffee distributors and I don't get it. I suppose I never will. (Being sarcastic here, I know why. Advertising. They learned how to blanket the masses with bull so that some people were convinced that their coffee was good even before they had even tried it. It has worked on every kids cereal since the beginning of time. Heh.)

[Polybius]

23. I get it

The younger generations absolutely adore it. I work with many under 25, and they are obsessed with Starbucks. Some even come a few minutes late for work, but with an iced caramel macchiato in their hand. None order regular coffee with milk. All of them order fancy stuff that's ultra-sweet. It's admittingly delicious, but in my 40's I can't have that stuff at work so I'm good without it.

[SunSeeker]

7. FU Starbucks. Do you invite workers when your CEOs meet with gov officials?

[Midnight Writer]

20. Exactly.

[Karma13612]

8. You know what I say to Corporate Starbucks?

Go find someone else to pick on.

Number one, your coffee is over priced. Yea it’s delicious, but you are so overpriced it isn’t funny. And Number two, your pastries are stale. And you price them as if they are made with gold dust. Again, WAAAAY overpriced.

Your workers need a union. All workers need unions. Corporations have shown they can’t mind themselves properly. If wages ever get better in this country, and conditions ever improve, it certainly won’t have been thru voluntary cooperation from management.

[richdj25]

9. Starbucks certainly isn't losing

Money.....This was reported from their website.

Starbucks Reports Record Q4 and Full Year Fiscal 2021 Results
10/28/21
Q4 Consolidated Net Revenues Up 31% to a Record $8.1 Billion
Q4 Comparable Store Sales Up 17% Globally; U.S. Up 22% with 11% Two-Year Growth
Q4 GAAP EPS $1.49; Non-GAAP EPS of $1.00 Driven by Strong U.S. Performance
Active Starbucks® Rewards Membership in the U.S. Approaches 25 million, Up 28% Year-Over-Year
Company Commits to $20 Billion of Share Repurchases and Dividends Over Next Three Years
Company Announces Historic Investments in its Partners (Employees), Bringing Average U.S. Retail Hourly Wage to Nearly $17/hr. by Summer 2022

[IronLionZion]

12. The best part of labor shortage is more American workers are unionizing

and demanding/seeking better conditions. This is long overdue in our country. Unionize IT workers next.

[LiberalFighter]

13. So it is okay to visit with business leaders but not union leaders?

[Rebl2]

18. Guess that's

what they think. President Biden has spoken to unions several times hasn’t he? He also has visited with business leaders and CEO’s as well. Guess SB owner didn’t get invited when he met with BL in the past and they pouting now.

[LiberalFighter]

14. Starbucks calls their employees partners? Do they have part ownership too now?

[Rural_Progressive]

24. Ya beat me to it

I had no idea that Starbucks was an employee owned company, they should do more to publicize that fact.

[LiberalFighter]

15. Starbucks has a problem with a union influencing but okay with doing it themselves?

[Jimvanhise]

19. THE RIGHT TO WORK FOR LESS

Workers oppose unions only if they think supporting one will get them fired. This has happened and there are lawsuits over this.

[turbinetree]

22. Global coffeehouse chain, Starbucks, reported an operating income of 4.87 billion U.S. dollars from

Nov. 24, 2021......so Starbucks you really can go pound sand.....democracy means when workers a voice.....


https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Starbucks/salaries