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workers united
Supreme Court Starbucks Ruling Seen as Gift to Corporate Union-Busters
The head of the union representing Starbucks workers said the ruling "underscores how the economy is rigged against working people all the way up to the Supreme Court."
Jun 13, 2024
Labor advocates decried Thursday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of Starbucks in a labor dispute between the international coffee giant and seven of its employees who were terminated after leading a unionization campaign at their Memphis store.
In an 8-1 decision—with liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting—the justices in Starbucks v. McKinney made it more difficult for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to temporarily halt alleged unfair labor practices. The court rejected a rule invoked by some courts to protect workers in favor of a higher standard supported by Starbucks.
"Companies that engage in union-busting will applaud this ruling."
Far-right Justice Clarence Thomas, who penned the court's majority opinion, asserted that the NLRB-backed standard made it too easy for the federal government to prevail in labor disputes with businesses.
"In fact," he wrote, "it is hard to imagine how the board could lose under the reasonable-cause test if courts deferentially ask only whether the board offered a minimally plausible legal theory, while ignoring conflicting law or facts."
Labor defenders, however, condemned the ruling.
"Working people have so few tools to protect and defend themselves when their employers break the law," Lynne Fox, president of Workers United, the union representing Starbucks employees, said in a statement.
"That makes today's ruling by the Supreme Court particularly egregious," Fox added. "It underscores how the economy is rigged against working people all the way up to the Supreme Court."
Labor journalist Steven Greenhouse said on social media that "companies that engage in union-busting will applaud this ruling."
Revolving Door Project found that at least three groups tied to anti-union figures Charles Koch, a billionaire, and Leonard Leo, a right-wing legal activist, filed amicus briefs in support of Starbucks' position.
At the center of the case are the so-called "Memphis Seven" employees who worked at Starbucks' Poplar and Highland location in the Tennessee city before they were fired in February 2022 during the early months of what has become a nationwide labor organization wave in which workers at hundreds of locations have voted to unionize.
In August 2022, a federal judge ordered Starbucks to reinstate the fired workers.
"Today's SCOTUS ruling in favor of Starbucks is tough news, but it won't stop us," the advocacy group Jobs With Justice said in response to the decision. "We stand with the Memphis Seven and all workers fighting for fair treatment. We must keep pushing for justice and stronger protections!"
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'The Real Americone Dream': Ben & Jerry's Scoopers Organizing for a Union
"Our goal in this action is to create a better-working and equal partnership between our community and yours," organizers at the flagship store wrote to the ice cream giant's corporate leaders.
Apr 17, 2023
Ben & Jerry's workers at the ice cream company's flagship shop in Burlington, Vermont on Monday filed for a union election amid a wave of organizing efforts at Amazon, Apple, REI, Starbucks, Trader Joe's, and other major employers across the United States.
Organizers in Burlington are calling themselves Scoopers United and are backed by Workers United, a Service Employees International Union affiliate that has gained national attention for winning union votes at 300 U.S. Starbucks stores since late 2021.
"Our goal in this action is to create a better-working and equal partnership between our community and yours," Scoopers United organizers wrote Sunday to company leaders and co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who started the business in 1978.
\u201cWelcome, @ScoopersUnited, to our growing union! We call on Ben and Jerry\u2019s to recognize the union today and begin good faith bargaining with these workers!\u201d— Workers United (@Workers United) 1681743393
The multinational Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's in 2000. The parent company has not commented on the Burlington effort but its website says that "workers are able to form and/or join trade unions of their choice, and to bargain collectively," and around 80% of the company's total workforce is covered by independent trade unions or collective bargaining agreements.
Both the co-founders and Ben & Jerry's, as a company, have a long history of activism. The ice cream giant's site states that "we seek in all we do, at every level of our business, to advance human rights and dignity, support social and economic justice for historically marginalized communities, and protect and restore the Earth's natural systems."
Scoopers United wrote that "we have seen the positive impact of community within our scoop shop. The support and comradery this store has cultivated are rare and unique. Collectively, we have come to embody Ben & Jerry's slogan of 'peace, love, and ice cream.'"
"We are taught from the beginning of our employment that equality and justice are integral rights of ours as people," organizers continued. "Despite record-breaking profits, incredible bounce-backs post-pandemic, and unwavering smiles, our staff is exploited within our work environment."
According toThe Washington Post:
The workers' push to unionize began around April 3, the annual Free Cone Day, when the company gives away free scoops of ice cream. According tounion organizers, management took away the tip jar that day.
Ben & Jerry's later returned it after workers protested, the organizers said. But the move to unionize quickly caught on throughout the store. In Burlington, organizers said all 37 scoopers have pledged their support. That's well above the typical threshold in the United States, where at least 30% of eligible employees must sign on to qualify for a federally recognized union election.
Union leaders said their primary motivation is to have a seat at the table with management. Also at issue is management's handling of multiple instances of drug use in the store bathroom, including an overdose last summer, as well as adding job duties without increasing pay, workers say.
"Workers need a voice on issues that affect us. Forming a union will ensure that present and future scoopers have irrefutable rights. To this end, we want to acknowledge the efforts made by current management. The work you have done has not gone unnoticed and provides us hope for future cooperation where we can collaborate as equals," organizers wrote, asking Ben & Jerry's leaders to recognize their right to unionize and sign a dozen fair election principles.
Rebeka Mendelsohn, a 22-year-old shift manager and University of Vermont student, said in a statement that "we're a company that stands for social justice rights and equity, and I want to ensure that this message is translated to all levels of employment."
Mendelsohn told the Post that she wanted to work for the company because of its commitment to social issues such as defending Black Lives Matter and environmental justice. Mendelsohn, who is Jewish, added that she was proud when Ben & Jerry's sued Unilever last year to block ice cream sales in Israeli-occupied West Bank territories—a dispute that was resolved confidentially.
"In the grand scheme of things, my employer is working toward something bigger," Mendelsohn said. "And I see such a potential for a union for employees and staff."
Other organizers and labor rights supporters across the country expressed solidarity with the Burlington workers' push to establish the first union at a Ben & Jerry's shop.
\u201cGo follow our friends @ScoopersUnited who are organizing @benjerry's in Burlington, VT! Solidarity!\u201d— Starbucks Workers United (@Starbucks Workers United) 1681730747
"ICE CREAM UNION," tweeted People for Bernie, sharing the organizers' letter.
Referencing one of the ice cream company's famous flavors, the Fight for $15 campaign declared that a "new Ben & Jerry's union is the real Americone Dream."
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Striving for 'Just and Moral Economy,' Workers Rise Up for May Day Protests Worldwide
Sen. Bernie Sanders noted Tuesday that the fight for "decent wages, decent benefits, and decent working conditions for all workers" is a daily one
May 01, 2018
As workers across the world marked International Workers' Day, or May Day, by taking to the streets to demand living wages, improved labor conditions, and that employers respect their right to unionize, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) used the global mobilization to note the importance of fighting to improve labor conditions year-round.
"Every day we must strive for a just and moral economy with decent wages, decent benefits, and decent working conditions for all workers," he tweeted Tuesday.
\u201cEvery day we must strive for a just and moral economy with decent wages, decent benefits and decent working conditions for all workers. That is a struggle that must be carried on by every generation. #MayDay\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1525185381
\u201cFrom Arizona to Puerto Rico to France, South Korea, and beyond, solidarity to everyone in the streets today for workers' rights #MayDay\u201d— Dissent Magazine (@Dissent Magazine) 1525184795
The annual wave of protests comes as teachers across the Unites States have been battling state governments for higher pay, reliable pensions, and greater investment in public schools. Arizona teachers kicked off their fourth day of walkouts on Tuesday, closing hundreds of schools statewide. Educators in Colorado, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and West Virginia have also held rallies and walkouts in recent weeks.
Supporters of the teacher protests took to Twitter to express solidarity with those aiming to improve public education:
\u201cHappy #MayDay especially to the teachers of West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Arizona who reminded us that the Koch brothers and their political lickspittles cannot kill the labor movement. "It is a subterranean fire. You cannot put it out." https://t.co/LDvme44gHA\u201d— Dave Zirin (@Dave Zirin) 1525179386
\u201cToday is #MayDay when we celebrate the victories of the labor movement and empower each other to fight the battles ahead. This year, we stand with the students, teachers and parents rising up to demand we #FundOurSchools for every student.\u201d— MEJA (@MEJA) 1525190184
Meanwhile, outside the New York Stock Exchange--one of many actions planned for New York City on Tuesday--hundreds of people joined a march organized by the immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New York to demand that Wall Street "stop making money from the pain of our communities."
The group specifically denounced policies pushed by the Trump administration, with co-executive director Javier Valdez telling NBC News, "The Trump administration has made very clear that they've declared war on the immigrant community on all levels."
\u201cPOWERFUL! Hundreds of New Yorkers outside the Stock Exchange building demand that Wall St. #BackersofHate stop making money from the pain of our communities! #MayDay\u201d— Make the Road NY \ud83e\udd8b (@Make the Road NY \ud83e\udd8b) 1525174985
Cynthia Nixon, who is running in the state's gubernatorial race as a progressive challenger to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, participated in the protest. "We are sending a notice to Wall Street: Stop funding Trump's prison policy and backing his racist agenda," she tweeted. "No one should be profiting off of human misery."
\u201cThis #MayDay, we are sending a notice to Wall Street: Stop funding Trump\u2019s prison policy and backing his racist agenda. No one should be profiting off of human misery. #BackersOfHate\u201d— Cynthia Nixon (@Cynthia Nixon) 1525181460
Across the country, in Los Angeles, union members, LGBTQ and immigrant rights advocates, and community activists planned a series of marches focused on, according to NBC Los Angeles, "defending workers' rights, halting deportations that 'break up families,' and urging residents to vote in the upcoming mid-term elections." The demonstrations were organized despite growing concerns about violent opposition from far-right groups.
The People's Congress of Resistance captured the demands driving Tuesday's national and international demonstrations in a Facebook event for a rally in Los Angeles, declaring:
We demand an end to the attacks on unions, ICE raids, police brutality, and sexual harassment in the workplace. We call for an end to imperialist wars abroad which devastate innocent people and the planet. We strive for a society with justice for women, students, LGBTQ folks, and the environment. We salute the striking teachers and student walk-outs across the country who are demonstrating that when we are organized we have the power."
Halfway around the world, McDonald's workers in the United Kingdom walked out to demand a wage increase.
\u201cLast night - @McDonalds workers midnight walkout of Manchester McD\u2019s kicking off #MayDay #McStrike actions across the UK. If McDonald's can afford to pay their bosses \u00a35,500 an hour, why aren't they paying their workers a decent wage?\u201d— Dave Haslam (@Dave Haslam) 1525156745
\u201cGlobal @McDonalds CEO Steve Easterbrook earns three thousand times more per hour than his company\u2019s average employee.\n\nThis is the scene right now outside the local branch in his hometown of Watford, UK #McStrike #Mayday @FastfoodRights\u201d— Jack Shenker (@Jack Shenker) 1525173513
Journalists in Turkey turned out to demand justice for colleagues who have been jailed "on baseless charges."
\u201cTurkey\u2019s \u2018Journalists outside the bars\u2019 take the streets in Asian side of #Istanbul to honor #MayDay and seek justice for 160+ colleagues who are deprived of their freedom, jailed on baseless charges. #InternationalWorkersDay #journalismisnotacrime #1May\u0131staMaltepedeyiz\u201d— Sebnem Arsu (@Sebnem Arsu) 1525162853
Turkish protesters also sought to defy a ban on demonstrating in Taksim Square, prompting a harsh crackdown by law enforcement. AFP reports that police "detained more than 80 people and placed a security lockdown on the city."
\u201cIstanbul police detain more than 50 people and place a security lockdown on the city as the Turkish metropolis marks a tense May Day\n#Turkey #MayDay https://t.co/dQY9tpCSKs\u201d— Randa HABIB (@Randa HABIB) 1525185962
Major protests were also held in Cambodia, Greece, Indonesia, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Spain, and elsewhere.
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