Starbucks’ anti-union ex-chief to face Sen. Bernie Sanders in labor hearing: NPR

Sen. Bernie Sanders (left) will ask Howard Schultz, who recently resigned as Starbucks CEO, about the company’s opposition to its unions.

David Dee Delgado/Getty Images; Joshua Lott/Getty Images

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David Dee Delgado/Getty Images; Joshua Lott/Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders (left) will ask Howard Schultz, who recently resigned as Starbucks CEO, about the company’s opposition to its unions.

David Dee Delgado/Getty Images; Joshua Lott/Getty Images

It could be a hearing for the history books: Billionaire Howard Schultz, the staunchly anti-union architect of Starbucks, gets questioned by Senator Bernie Sanders, the outspoken champion of the union movement in Congress.

Schultz was once a prominent Democrat who was hailed as a progressive corporate pioneer for better wages and benefits for service industry workers. On Wednesday, he will testify about allegations that Starbucks has violated labor laws as it battles nationwide union pressure from its employees.

Schultz, who is fresh off his third term as Starbucks CEO, is expected to deny any wrongdoing. But Sanders, a fixture at union meetings and town halls, is likely to cite dozens of complaints against Starbucks filed both by workers and by federal labor representatives since the first American coffee shop organized in late 2021.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing is chaired by Sanders, an independent from Vermont, and will be streamed online. When it began, a long line of executives and company employees crowded inside, wearing matching T-shirts — as did dozens of Starbucks Workers United members. After Schultz’s testimony, lawmakers will also hear from a current and a former Starbucks barista.

Hundreds of unionized shops, but still no contract

Workers at nearly 300 coffee shops have now voted to join Starbucks Workers United, about 3% of the chain’s US locations. The company has closed some unionized stores and fired some workers involved in organizing, citing misconduct.

Federal administrative law judges have found Starbucks to have violated labor laws in at least eight cases, which the company is appealing. Some decided to reinstate fired workers and give them back pay. One said Starbucks engaged in “gross and widespread misconduct that demonstrates a general disregard for its employees.”

Starbucks and the union have also failed to negotiate a collective agreement for any of the unionized stores. Both sides accuse each other of undermining the process.

“You know the first thing I want to hear from Schultz? Is he’s going to obey the law — not a very radical proposal,” Sen. Sanders told NPR on Tuesday. “And I hope that what Mr. Schultz will say at the end of the hearing is that he is willing to sit down with the union and negotiate a contract.”

Three times the CEO faced the threat of subpoena

Schultz, in prepared remarks for his first appearance before Congress, claims Starbucks is in compliance labor laws. He touts Starbucks as a worker-focused and generous employer, with an average wage of $17.50 an hour and benefits that include tuition and company stock.

“We are a different kind of public company that balances profitability with a social conscience. Striving to achieve this vision has been my life’s work,” Schultz wrote, reiterating his view in favor of “a direct relationship” with workers — without a union in the middle.

Schultz stepped down last week from his third term as Starbucks CEO since the 1980s, staying on as a board member and major shareholder. He had agreed to testify in the Senate after the committee prepared to subpoena him. Sanders rejected Starbucks’ offers from other representatives instead.

Schultz first led the coffee chain to massive expansion between 1986 and 2000, returning to the chief executive job from 2008 to 2017 and again last April. In 2019, Schultz made headlines when he explored a presidential run against Donald Trump as an independent.

Last week at Starbucks’ shareholder meeting, new CEO Laxman Narasimhan signaled no change in the company’s stance on unions.

NPR’s Greta Pittenger, Andrea Hsu and Mary Yang contributed to this report.