Starbucks Founder and Former Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee on Wednesday morning. For two hours, Senators questioned Schultz regarding Starbucks’ anti-union practices, including retaliation against pro-union workers, withholding of benefits from unionized workers, and failure to reach a contract with any of the more than 300 unionized locations.
Schultz agreed to testify before the Senate following weeks of pressure from the Committee and its plans to vote to subpoena him. Schultz was the CEO of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000, 2008 to 2017, and returned as the interim CEO last year. Laxman Narasimhan, Schultz’s successor and the current Starbucks CEO, assumed the role earlier than anticipated following Schultz’s agreement to testify.
Throughout his testimony, Schultz repeatedly asserted that Starbucks “unequivocally” has not broken the law, despite the NLRB repeatedly ordering Starbucks to cease and desist from unlawful activities. Earlier this month, an NLRB Administrative Law Judge found Starbucks committed “egregious and widespread” violations of federal law and ordered Schultz himself to engage in a notice-reading. However, when Senator Bernie Sanders asked Schultz at the hearing if he was “aware” of this order and “prepared to read that notice,” Schultz stated, “No I am not. Because Starbucks Coffee Company did not break the law.” When Senator Chris Murphy pointed out Schultz’s...
Tehran – Saba: The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the subversive actions taken by the rulers of Abu Dhabi against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Last night, Tasnim News Agency reported that the...