Business & Tech
NJ Senators Urge Starbucks To Speed Up Talks With Mercer Union Stores
The senators called on Starbucks to end delays in contract negotiations with four unionized NJ stores, including the ones in Mercer Co.
MERCER COUNTY, NJ — U.S. senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez wrote to Starbucks CEO, asking him to “stop delaying negotiations” with four unionized stores in NJ, including Hopewell and Hamilton.
On Wednesday, the senators sent a letter to Starbucks and CEO Howard Schultz, urging the company to negotiate in “good faith” with the workers, as required by the National Labor Relations Act.
The stores in Hopewell Township, Hamilton, Summit and Montclair have been waiting between six and 10 months to form their first collective bargaining agreement.
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In their letter, Booker and Menendez noted that it’s been nearly a year since the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certified the first New Jersey union at a Starbucks store in Hopewell. Since then, despite Starbucks’ alleged “anti-union behavior” three other stores in the state have voted to unionize.
However, the company is “yet to form a first contract” with the employees.
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“We do not expect Starbucks to immediately accept all of the proposals made by the union,” Booker and Menendez said. “However, we urge you to sit down with union representatives in an honest attempt to form a collective bargaining contract in accordance with requirements set forth under the National Labor Relations Act.”
The senators said that workers at the stores in Hopewell Township, Hamilton, Summit and Montclair are asking for “commonsense” requests, including:
- pay increases for the augmentation of their responsibilities due to the pandemic
- higher quality training
- more consistent scheduling
- health and safety improvements
- protection of benefits for part-time workers
On Friday AFL-CIO thanked Booker and Menendez for their support. “We thank the Senators for standing with the workers at Starbucks and join them in calling for the company to stop delaying good-faith negotiations for a first contract,” AFL-CIO said.
To read the full letter, click here.
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