Starbucks boss begs store managers to step up anti-union activities – and company ‘fakes activist tweets’ – SKWAWKBOX

Growing unionisation among Starbucks employees attacked by billionaire: “it’s an American right of workers not to unionize and to [instead] embrace the values and the culture of his or her company“

A remarkable video obtained by the US workers’ media organisation A More Perfect Union shows Starbucks founder Howard Schultz railing against young baristas who have successfully organised unions in five of the company’s outlets and arranged unionisation votes in more than two hundred others – and telling store managers to work harder to influence the outcome of votes and prevent more workers organising.

Schulz can be seen describing the company’s own workers as an ‘outside force’ – and says that it is ‘an American right’ not to be represented by a union:

The company’s North American president (7m 53s) also tells store managers that their ‘number one priority’ is to make every employee vote to prevent workers speaking through union reps rather than as individuals.

Meanwhile, Starbucks has also been accused of faking tweets supposedly issued by the workers’ union that it quoted in anti-union leaflets – and of misrepresenting pay awards won by the newly-unionised workers – to try to deter other employees from joining them:

Solidarity with Starbucks employees and workers in every other company fighting for recognition of their right to organise and take collective action to protect themselves.

Follow A More Perfect Union here and Rational National here.

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