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Starbucks’ former CEO Howard Schultz on Wednesday denied breaking the law in response to sharp criticism from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who accused the company of “the most aggressive and illegal union busting campaign in the modern history of our country.”
In response to questions from Sanders during a Senate hearing, Schultz affirmed the right of workers to choose whether to unionize and defended the company’s actions.
Starbucks “has not broken the law,” Schultz said. “Let me set the tone for this very early on.”
Schultz, who served as Starbucks CEO for over 20 years across three stints and stepped down from the position last week, said Starbucks has negotiated in “good faith” with employees as they’ve sought to unionize and obtain collective benefits.
More than a dozen decisions from federal officials have found that the company violated labor law in its response to a wave of union campaigns at its stores, according to the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency.
Roughly 290 of almost 9,000 company-owned stores in the U.S. have voted to unionize. However, workers have yet to sign a union contract at a single location.MORE: Starbucks’ former CEO set to face Bernie Sanders over employees’ unionization push
Earlier this month, an administrative judge ruled that Starbucks had committed “egregious and widespread misconduct” in its effort to prevent unionization at some of its stores.
The judge, Michael A. Rosas, mandated the company reinstate several workers and Schultz read a notice to employees, among other remedies.
More than 500 formal allegations of labor law violations have been filed against Starbucks with regional offices of the NLRB, the agency said this month.
In all, 13 decisions have ordered remedies for unfair labor practices committed by Starbucks, including the reinstatement of 22 employees, the NLRB said.
