Howard Schultz — current board chairman and former CEO of Starbucks — defended allegations of union-busting against the Seattle-based coffee giant during a three-hour-long U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee hearing led by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Wednesday. Both Howard Schultz and employees of Starbucks answered questions posed by bipartisan members of the committee during the packed hearing entitled, No Company is Above the Law: The Need to End Illegal Union Busting at Starbucks.
The Senate hearing came about after weeks of negotiations between the Senate committee and Starbucks, which initially tried to send someone other than Howard Schultz, who was only interim CEO during a portion of the now 16-month-long clash with Starbucks Workers United. However, Sen. Sanders refused to accept anyone testifying other than Schultz and, under threat of subpoena, he eventually agreed to testify Wednesday.
Related: Federal judge rolls back Starbucks union busting cease
Throughout the hearing, Schultz defended his company, stating over and over that Starbucks never broke the law — specifically the National Labor Relations Act — for which the coffee chain has come under fire for allegations of union-busting including illegal terminations of employees.
Here are seven highlights from the lengthy testimony:
Related: Starbucks addresses continued labor issues at annual shareholders’ meeting
Schultz defended Starbucks against every...
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