Starbucks has temporarily closed two of the five stores in the Buffalo market where baristas have been agitating to unionize the company workforce. As we told you in past issues, workers in (originally three) now five stores in the upstate New York city have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to authorize and schedule…
Read More »Unlike politicians’ promises for free services – free college tuition, free child tax credits, free universal guaranteed income, free prescription drugs, etc. – there are times when items of great value really are offered for FREE! And, that’s precisely what the Coalition of Franchisee Associations is offering franchisees at its upcoming Annual Legal Symposium in…
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At the end of July 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) implemented a final rule to rescind the “Joint Employer Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” also known as the Joint Employer Rule, which first published in January 2020 under the Trump administration. This action should come as no surprise if you are…
Read More »Speaking of unionizing efforts, it was disappointing, to say the least, to read that the small Cambridge-based coffee chain, Darwins had voluntarily agreed to recognize its employees as unionized without going through a formal NLRB election process. Instead, the 4-unit chain will collectively bargain with Darwins United, which has established itself as an affiliate of…
Read More »As we advised you a shortly before Labor Day, Starbucks is looking down the barrel of the unionizing shotgun in upstate New York as baristas in three Buffalo stores have petitioned the NLRB for a union representation election. In response, Starbucks this week attempted to significantly expand the playing field by responding to the NLRB…
Read More »Starbucks is facing another unionizing effort amongst its barista “partners” again, this time in Buffalo, New York. You’ll recall that we reported just a few weeks ago that two employees fired from a Philadelphia Starbucks for unionizing activities (protected under the National Labor Relations Act) had prevailed in a legal challenge before an NLRB Administrative…
Read More »In the context of the ongoing push to ease union organizing (think PRO Act, Biden being ‘most union-friendly president’ in history, NLRB becoming more advocacy-oriented, etc.), the state of Illinois does not intend to be left behind. In fact, earlier this year, the legislature passed a joint resolution to place a constitutional amendment on the…
Read More »Having just advised of the NLRB General Counsel and her strong unionizing proclivities, you should also be aware that the campaign to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) and implement its many egregious provisions is now in full swing. Just two weeks ago, 17 Attorneys General from around the country –…
Read More »Earlier this month, Starbucks announced that it will increase the starting wage for its baristas in all stores to $12 an hour beginning in October. The company had previously announced plans for the across-the-board increase to take place in January, but pointed to better than expected performance to justify the early increases. Elsewhere, two baristas…
Read More »Speaking of important court decisions, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rendered one a few weeks ago that can have major repercussions on unionizing efforts moving forward. The case stems from a 1975 state regulation implemented in California that allowed union organizers to enter an agricultural employer’s private property for the purpose of…
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