Union Activity!

If past is prologue as the old saying goes, Dunkin’s franchisees should be in an advanced state of readiness on the union front with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) targeting some Dunkin’ shops in Connecticut. In their ongoing efforts to unionize QSRs and rest stop businesses in the Constitution State, SEIU members are protesting…

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More NLRB Changes

The changes just keep coming at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and not in a good way for many employers. By a 3-2 vote on Tuesday of this week, the Board broadened its make-whole remedy for unfair labor practices by including a requirement that employers must compensate victimized workers for “all direct or foreseeable…

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Updating Unionizing Efforts

After peaking earlier this summer, unionizing efforts at Starbucks stores across the country have seemed to slow down over the past few months, but the broader effort to organize within the QSR industry continues. Most recently, two locations of California-based Peets Coffee filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for union representation elections. The…

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Business Groups Sue Connecticut

Earlier this month, a number of major business associations – led by the United States Chamber of Commerce – filed a federal lawsuit challenging a ban on captive audience meetings in the Constitution State. A Connecticut law prohibits employers from requiring employee attendance at “captive audience” meetings where the employer shares their opinion on broadly…

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On the Union Front

Workers at the Starbucks Flagship Reserve Roastery in the Meatpacking district of New York City went on strike late last week, protesting alleged cleanliness issues. Ironically, on that same day, Starbucks announced that another Reserve store in New York City would be opening this month inside the Empire State Building. The new store, comprising 23,000…

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On Second Thought . . .

There’s an old adage that cautions “Watch out what you wish for, you might just get it!” It seems that might be the case with baristas at a Starbucks store in Nichols Hills, OK. Those employees petitioned for a union representation election five months ago and after some challenges back and forth, the NLRB finally…

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Unionizing at Starbucks

The saga over unionizing at Starbucks continues with a decision coming down from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last Friday where the company was found to have illegally fired an employee in Michigan for participating in union activism and in a labor board proceeding. The NLRB administrative judge who heard the complaint ordered Starbucks…

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NLRB Underscores Need for Clear Conduct Policy

A ruling this week from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) makes clear that employers need to have thorough, yet narrowly tailored work rules and policies in place to protect themselves. In the case of Cadillac of Naperville, Inc., the Board found the employer guilty of violating the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it…

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Starbucks Readies Union Negotiations

Starbucks announced last week that it had sent letters to 234 unionized stores offering a three-week window for members of the union bargaining teams to come to the negotiating table. To date, only three of the 234 Starbucks stores that have unionized have begun contract negotiations. None are reported to be close to agreeing to…

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California Requires Pay Info Plus

California just continues to plow new territory in employment law and business mandates. Most recently, Governor Gavin Newsom, who pundits believe is positioning himself for a possible 2024 run for President, on Tuesday signed into law SB 1162, which will require California employers with 15 or more workers to include pay ranges in all job…

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