Senior Vice President, Employment Policy Division, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
On March 29, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), held the latest made-for-TV Senate hearing related to unions, entitled: “No Company is Above the Law: The Need to End Illegal Union Busting at Starbucks.” The title didn’t leave much ambiguity as to Sen. Sanders’s views, and much like his March 8 hearing, the March 29 hearing was long on accusations and innuendo and short on the realities of how organizing campaigns and the judicial system work. In the case of this hearing, the main focus was of course on Starbucks, and it was evident that Sen. Sanders is unhappy with the company and its former CEO, Howard Schultz.
For starters, as in previous hearings, Sen. Sanders referred to a “constitutional right” to unionize, perhaps to add more gravitas to the event. Joining a union, or declining to do so, is in fact protected under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The United States Constitution, however, and its accompanying amendments, does not discuss union organizing.
In the days before the hearing, majority staff on the Senate HELP committee released a slanderous “report” on Starbucks. Playing judge, jury, and executioner, the report proclaimed ominously that there have been 500 unfair labor practice charges (ULPs) filed against Starbucks. However, the report fails to note the reality that anyone can file a ULP against any entity subject to the NLRA for any reason. As an example, the Teamsters Union...
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