On Thursday, former New York Times labor journalist Steven Greenhouse reported that workers at Starbucks' Seattle Roastery have voted to unionize.
This is the 26th successful union election at a Starbucks location as the labor campaigns have spread across the country — and this is a particular blow, because this is the flagship location in the city where Starbucks was first founded.
For Starbucks, a roastery is a proud flagship store. For the union to win the vote at THE flagship store in Starbucks' HOMETOWN, that's a big symbolic & substantive win for the union & a big symbolic & substantive & HUMBLING loss for Starbucks & its union-busting lawyers.— Steven Greenhouse (@Steven Greenhouse) 1650575105
Starbucks' shares have fallen 12% since Schultz became CEO again April 4\n\nStarbux stock might do far better if Schultz stopped fighting the union & instead embraced it, saying Starbucks wants to work hand in hand with the union & our workers to create a better workplace & company— Steven Greenhouse (@Steven Greenhouse) 1650575850
Howard Schultz, the billionaire CEO of Starbucks who returned to that role after a disastrous independent presidential campaign in 2019, has fought furiously to kill the union drives. He has said that the company is "being assaulted" by the organizing efforts, and in one bizarre speech, he even compared unionizing workers to Holocaust prisoners being forced to share blankets.
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