By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) -Starbucks and a union seeking to organize the coffee chain's U.S. workforce said on Tuesday they have agreed to create a "framework" to guide organizing and collective bargaining and potentially settle scores of pending legal disputes.
Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Workers United said in a joint announcement that during talks last week to settle an ongoing court case, "a constructive path forward emerged" on the future of the nationwide labor campaign that began in 2021 and has led workers to unionize at nearly 400 of the company's 9,000 U.S. stores.
The coffee chain and the union said they agreed to begin discussions on a "foundational framework" that includes a fair process for workers to organize and a process to achieve collective bargaining agreements on a store-by-store basis.
Starbucks said that "as a sign of good faith" it agreed to provide workers at unionized stores with benefits that were granted to non-union workers in 2022, including the ability to receive customer tips from credit card transactions.
The announcement is a remarkable turn in a contentious battle, with both sides accusing the other of improper and unlawful conduct. Starbucks in December said it would resume bargaining talks with the union in an attempt to mend its strained relationship with some employees.
Workers United has filed hundreds of complaints with the National Labor Relations Board accusing Starbucks of illegal labor practices, including threatening and firing union supporters and shuttering stores to prevent unionizing. The board and several federal courts have ruled that Starbucks violated U.S. labor law.
Starbucks has denied wrongdoing while accusing the union of trademark infringement for using the company's circular green logo as the basis for its own branding, and claiming it encouraged workers to violate company policies.
According to Tuesday's announcement, Starbucks and Workers United will also work toward settling the outstanding legal cases, but it was not clear which cases that cover.
In addition to the cases before the NLRB, Starbucks also has a case pending at the U.S. Supreme Court over Starbucks' firing of seven pro-union workers at a Memphis, Tennessee store. That case poses the broader question of when the NLRB can win court orders requiring employers to reinstate fired workers or take other steps to address alleged illegal labor practices.
Earlier this month, Starbucks also raised claims in a separate case before the labor board that the agency's structure violates the U.S. Constitution. Rocket maker SpaceX, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), grocery chain Trader Joe's and two Starbucks baristas who oppose unionizing are making similar arguments in separate cases.