 So we have to talk about the Starbucks workers and what they're doing across the country I don't even know how to describe what they're doing but I do know for sure that all of their activity demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that labor is back and At this point I feel as if we're on a trajectory to make labor and the labor movement more broadly speaking in this country stronger than ever So it wasn't long ago when Chris Smalls led the first Amazon warehouse to a union But Starbucks workers back in November in Buffalo, New York at a store they voted to form the very first union in the company's history and That was only the beginning because now there is a company-wide effort to unionize now earlier this month the flagship Starbucks location in New York voted to unionize just this week two stores in the Boston area voted unanimously to form unions And we're to the point where 18 stores have voted to unionize since that first store unionized in Buffalo, New York in late 2021 and More than 200 plus stores are now fighting to unionize in 30 different states 200 plus Starbucks locations are fighting to unionize Now all of this is happening despite one of the most intense union-busting campaigns in decades This is according to in these times But since that article was published back in late March the number of stores trying to unionize Doubled so just stop for a moment and appreciate that Starbucks is doing everything in their power even firing union organizers at particular locations closing down stores and The union effort is growing. It literally doubled in the span of a couple of weeks It's absolutely insane and the company at this point is so desperate that they're trying everything Including increasing benefits specifically for non-union workers So as CNBC explains Starbucks campaign to dissuade baristas from unionizing could include extending new benefits Exclusively to non-union workers the company's CEO Howard Schultz told US store leaders this week that he is reviewing the coffee chains Benefit program for its workers. However employees who work at company owned stores that vote to unionize would be ineligible for those Improved benefits Schultz said Schultz cited federal labor law and advice from the company's legal counsel in saying it would be illegal to extend Benefits unilaterally with unionized locations in the equation under federal labor law Employers have to bargain with the union that represents their workers when it comes to changes in compensation Benefits or other terms of their employment, but companies can still ask unionize employees if they want additional benefits So, I mean, this is obviously a deliberate and cynical ploy to get any employee That was considering a union to not opt for a union because if the goal of The union is to get better pay and better benefits Well, then if the company's offering you this anyway, then what's the point of the union kind of makes the union unnecessary, right? except No, this is a union busting ploy see the reason why a union would still be necessary Even if Starbucks did offer better benefits is because what these companies do is they'll say, okay, we're gonna offer you health care but This is only for full-time employees so you've got to work at least 35 hours a week or 37 hours a week and if you Work that much then we will make sure you have health care The problem is that then they'll deliberately schedule employees for like thirty four point five hours And this is what they all do. So when I worked at Walmart They would actually write you up if you went over your schedule time because then oh under law You have to be offered benefits if you cross into a certain hourly Threshold per week. So this is this is obviously what they're gonna do They're gonna say hey here's some new benefits that we're gonna dangle in front of you But we won't actually give them to you because you won't be employed full-time Well, we won't schedule you enough to qualify for these benefits I mean they're full of shit and this is why the employees are unionizing because they see right through it It's an embarrassing attempt to playgate workers that I don't think is gonna work But Howard Schultz is trying to do anything because he's desperate so more from CNBC on this as the union push gains momentum Workers United has alleged that the company has engaged in union-busting activity including firing Organizers cutting barista hours at unionizing locations and other forms of retaliation in March the National Labor Relations Board Filed a complaint against Starbucks alleging that it violated federal labor law by firing organizers at a Phoenix location in his week And a half back at the helm of the company Schultz has already been waging a more aggressive campaign against the union than previous CEO Kevin Johnson Schultz has mentioned the union in public letters and speeches with workers painting the push to organize as divisive and Unnecessary quote and while not all the partners supporting unionization are colluding with outside union forces The critical point is that I do not believe conflict division and dissension Which which has been a focus of union organizing benefit Starbucks or our partners. He wrote in the letter to employees Sunday I'm sorry, but he is so full of shit. Now. I want to play a video This is an interview from democracy now with one of the first organizers of the very first store that unionized in Buffalo their name is jazz Brzech and they basically call Howard Schultz's bluff here call out his hypocrisy and his hyperbole also which I won't spoil that for you But um, they say, you know, Starbucks has this reputation of being this really progressive company They're in favor of you know, LGBTQ plus rights black lives matter But yet when it comes to labor rights, the company literally views labor as an assault They view unionization as an assault. It's preposterous So take a look at what this worker says about Howard Schultz and then when we come back I'll give you the additional context because it truly is just absurd and Howard Schultz is making a fool of himself But let's listen. It's been incredible to see this thrown into this kind of national movement Um, I mean, we've had support from the beginning from partners across the country and the first door to file after Buffalo was actually a Mesa of Arizona store whose manager was retaliated against for telling us exactly what all of these people coming into Buffalo We're actually up to and when Starbucks retaliated against her and fired her before she had the chance to Finish her time at Starbucks after resigning They were the first door to Petition outside of Buffalo, but from there it's been incredible. I feel like it's almost I'm not even able to keep up with how many more stores have been Launching so it's incredible to see so many Folks and the first door in the south one a few weeks ago in Knoxville, which was really incredible The Memphis folks are still not only did Starbucks fire six out of the seven person organizing committee, but they also Have still delayed that vote from actually being scheduled with the labor board It's incredible to see more people Um joining and this movement growing and I think we all know that that's how we're actually going to get the kind of contract that we can sign and that partners deserve is by continuing to get stronger and show that despite everything we keep overcoming that union busting and um standing together in solidarity and I mean, I think it's ridiculous that Howard Schultz is first this threatened By unions because we've said from day one, you know, we're not doing this because we're opposed to Starbucks We're doing this because we want to make Starbucks the best that it can be and the most sustainable that it can be it says it's a progressive company that celebrates You know all of these other forms of activism lgbt rights environmental justice um black lives matter um And then suddenly it's being assaulted by labor rights. So that doesn't make sense That's not consistent with what the Starbucks says it is um But I think, you know, we've seen how we're come to Buffalo and make really inappropriate comparisons to The Holocaust and now we're seeing him say that he's being assaulted So I think, you know, he tries to acknowledge that it's a sensitive subject But he's still really missing the mark on how to talk about it. Yeah, so I love the enthusiasm there I love how optimistic Starbucks workers are because what they're doing is paying off, right? They're making their voices heard They're staking their claim And it's working. It's working. You have two stores just this week vote unanimously to unionize. You know, Howard Schultz is shitting bricks But uh, they were correct So when uh, they said that he used the Holocaust analogy He actually did this. I looked it up. So I'm paraphrasing here But he was talking about why unions are bad and he said, you know in Germany in concentration camps Not all of the prisoners would get blankets and so some of the prisoners would share blankets So, uh, Starbucks wants to be the type of company that shares blankets Okay, so what are you trying to say? Are you trying to say that the union organizers Howard are like the Nazis? Or are you saying that Starbucks and the working conditions are comparable to concentration camps because you can interpret that in a multitude of ways and uh Either way, it doesn't look good for you And he also called it an assault. We talked about this last week. I can't get over that He actually said this is like an assault on corporations absurd So one thing that I love about this isn't just how successful these unionized efforts are But it's to see how these CEOs lose their fucking minds As the unionization effort spreads across the company and is successful And if these Starbucks workers have taught us anything Is that when one domino falls the rest will follow and I hope that that's true with the amazon union All it took was one starbucks store to unionize and now just a couple of months later More than 200 stores across the country Are fighting to unionize Now we had one amazon store unionized while others follow. I'm not sure but what I do know is that this labor movement Is really really encouraging to see and uh any time You see a company lose their shit And fight this hard use all of these tactics and be that hyperbolic to fight unions That goes to show you unions are very powerful And there's a reason why these companies don't want their workers to form unions