Starbucks informed the staff of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that outgoing chief executive Howard Schultz was not going to testify at the senator’s hearing in the coffee chain’s battle with its labor union.
Sanders, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, had sent a letter to the coffee chain on February 7 asking for Schultz to appear on Capitol Hill next month. But in response Tuesday night, Starbucks offered instead to send another executive, AJ Jones II, vice president and top spokesman.
Schultz has served as interim CEO and plans to step down in April.
“Due to the transition period, he is relinquishing any operational role in the company that he will take on and what we understand is the subject of the hearing, we believe that another senior leader with ongoing responsibilities is best suited to address the issue,” Starbucks general. counsel Zabrina Jenkins wrote for Sanders.
Schultz is one of the founders of the famous coffee chain and its most recognizable face. He has been heavily involved in the company’s battle with Starbucks Workers United, a labor campaign that has united nearly 300 stores since the end of 2021.
“Schultz has been named personally in several complaints filed by the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel that accuse the company of illegally obstructing organizing efforts.”
Schultz has been named personally in several complaints filed by the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel that accuse the company of illegally obstructing organizing efforts. A key organizer of the campaign called Schultz the “Al Capone of union-busting.”
Sanders, a close ally of organized labor, has largely attacked Schultz for the company’s aggressive response to the campaign. He has told the company that he wants Schultz to answer questions related to “decisions about compliance with our state’s labor laws and the first contract negotiations with union workers at Starbucks.”
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The general counsel has issued 75 complaints against Starbucks alleging that management illegally fired union supporters, closed organized stores, and threatened to withhold raises and other benefits to prevent union workers. Most of these cases are now litigated.
Last week, Sanders told The Associated Press that he would consider using the committee’s subpoena power if Schultz declined his invitation.
“This is corporate greed,” Sanders said, according to the AP. “Workers have a constitutional right to organize. And even if you’re a big multinational company owned by a billionaire, you don’t have the right to break the law. And we’re going to ask Mr. Schultz some very tough questions.
In the letter to Sanders, Starbucks called itself a “model employer and categorical leader in the industry for comprehensive compensation.” He said Jones was uniquely qualified to testify before the committee before working in Congress and serving as policy director for Rep. James Clyburn (SC), a former Democratic whip.