Impact of Federal Labor Law on our Ability to Implement Improvements and Changes to Wages and Benefits
At Starbucks, we work to uplift the Partner Experience by leaning into our heritage, listening with purpose and moving with speed to satisfy customer demands for improved store environments and to invest in best-in-class benefits for our partners and their loved ones.
Our culture puts partners at the core of who we are. We celebrate the direct relationship we have with partners at most Starbucks stores, which is why that remains our preference today—but there should be no doubt that where partners choose to be represented by a union, we fully respect that choice.
We continue to focus on helping partners thrive at work, as individuals and together, through new tools like wage innovations, industry-leading wages, well-being benefits and personalized career mobility. We do so conscious of our obligations and limitations under federal labor law—the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Certain legal rules apply under the NLRA when union organizing is taking place in a store, different legal rules apply when a union represents partners in a store, and yet another set of legal rules apply to stores where there is no union activity. We’ve outlined those key differences below.
While there are several sets of rules, one constant we will always apply at Starbucks is our commitment to connecting with our partners and others through our Mission and Values. Recent feedback from our partners has made it clear that we need to explain these legal rules, which include certain facts about union organizing and collective bargaining—including the impact of these rules on the speed and manner in which we can deliver improvements to the Partner Experience.
| For partners in more than 97% of stores who have a direct relationship with us: | For partners in stores where union organizing is occurring: | For partners represented by a union in particular stores: |
|---|---|---|
| Starbucks has the right to make unilateral changes and improvements at all stores where partners are unrepresented and uninvolved in organizing as part of our direct employment relationship with these partners. We have not changed that approach. We are proud to provide the most valuable benefits package in retail, which provides our partners access to: Highly competitive wages Leading time-off with pay programs for vacation, sick and parental leave Access to the Starbucks College Achievement Plan covering 100% of tuition toward 140+ bachelor’s degree programs Access to partner and family support, like free counseling offered by Lyra Mental Health, subsidized backup childcare through Care@Work, family expansion reimbursement and more Financial wellness programs including Bean Stock, 401(k), My Savings and discount programs And more We will continue to work side-by-side and with speed to implement the future of Starbucks and uplift the Partner Experience. | When union organizing occurs in a store, it is unlawful for Starbucks (or any employer) to respond by promising or making new improvements in wages and benefits or by making wages and benefits worse in that store. However, the Company may make changes that were previously decided or that are consistent with a past practice of making the same or similar types of actions. Starbucks is committed to avoiding unlawful interference, restraint, coercion or discrimination regarding partners who are involved in organizing. We respect the right of partners to make their own decisions regarding union issues, and that includes the right to decide these issues without actions by Starbucks that the law prohibits. | When a union has been elected to represent partners at a particular store, all wages, benefits, hours and other employment terms and conditions are “mandatory” collective bargaining subjects. That means it is unlawful for Starbucks (or any employer) to unilaterally give new wage or benefit increases (or decreases) without satisfying collective bargaining obligations. However, the Company may make changes that were previously decided or that are consistent with a past practice of making the same or similar types of actions. Bargaining usually involves a range of proposals addressing mandatory subjects. Because the law requires good faith negotiation over all wages, benefits, hours and other employment terms, Starbucks disfavors “single issue” bargaining regarding discrete wage and benefit changes separate from other bargaining subjects. This would remove particular issues from collective bargaining when bargaining is still required over all wages, benefits and additional employment matters. Where partners have union representation, Starbucks respects that partner choice and is committed to good faith negotiation and satisfying all collective bargaining obligations with a sincere desire to enter into an agreement addressing in a reasonable manner partner concerns and all other issues. Starbucks is also committed to avoiding unlawful interference, restraint, coercion or discrimination regarding union issues. |
Recent examples of investments Starbucks was legally able to, and did, implement for all partners, based on the legal rules summarized above:
- The annual process at Starbucks of evaluating, changing and improving benefits offered to partners on our plans—like most employers across the nation—falls under this legal callout. That process is historically similar in scope and scale every year for all stores across the country. For this reason, the October 2022 changes to improve benefits, including, for example, the Family Expansion benefit, are available to all partners—including union represented partners—who are on a company benefits plan.
- Starbucks gave all partners—including partners in stores where union organizing was occurring and represented partners—access to abortion travel benefits and gender affirming care, because they were not in response to organizing and Starbucks had previously made similar benefits plan changes in the past.
Recent examples of investments Starbucks was not able to broadly implement for all partners, based on the legal rules summarized above:
- We expect that net-new investments in wages and benefits that have been implemented for the vast majority of stores, like those announced on May 3, 2022, will likely be negotiated at the bargaining table and we commit to bargain in good faith.
- Additionally, the October 2022 announcement to increase the accrual rate for sick time is a net-new change without similarity to historical practices, and similarly, will likely be negotiated at the bargaining table.
We realize that these legal rules can be complicated and understand the partner frustration when these facts don’t make it into a headline or a social media post.
Particular situations will continue to come up that warrant careful attention to the above and other legal rules. We remain committed to communicating frequently and with transparency about the laws and relevant facts that govern organizing, union representation and bargaining issues. Partners with additional questions should continue to connect with their store and district managers or PRO.