Starbucks and union face off in Seattle over negotiation rules

Starbucks and the union representing hundreds of its stores faced off at a historic hearing in Seattle on Tuesday.

The National Labor Relations Board and Starbucks Workers United are seeking a federal order forcing Starbucks to the bargaining table. But Starbucks says it’s been there the whole time, waiting to negotiate in good faith.

Both sides blame each other for stalling bargaining over a flashpoint many workers are familiar with: a hybrid meeting model that allows some organizers to join by Zoom.

Starbucks is demanding that negotiations happen in-person, while the union says pandemic-era rules allowing for hybrid bargaining should still apply.

“It shouldn't take a year and a half to get to the table just because they don't like the way that we've all decided that we want to bargain with the company,” said Elizabeth Duran, a Starbucks employee and union organizer, outside the hearing. “That shouldn't be something that they can just decide, unilaterally saying, 'No, we won't do it.’”

More than 340 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize in the fast few years, despite what organizers describe as a “scorched earth” anti-union campaign from the company. The NLRB has found Starbucks in violation of labor law dozens of times since the organizing campaign began.