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The
letter comes after two top proxy advisory firms, Institutional
Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, also recommended
shareholders vote in favor of the assessment at Starbucks'
annual shareholder meeting on March 23.
"We believe Starbucks' anti-union campaign against us violates
the company's own commitment to respect its employees' rights,"
Workers United said in the letter, which it will send to
investors on Friday.
The fight between labor and Starbucks has become increasingly
frothy, with both sides alleging that the other is not
bargaining in good faith.
Starbucks workers have filed more than 500 charges against the
company with the National Labor Relations Board, which has
ordered the company to reinstate 22 fired employees including
some union supporters.
"We respect our partner' rights to organize and engage in lawful
union activities and we have fully honored the process laid out
by the NLRB to ensure that partners can trust the process is
fair and their voice is heard," Starbucks said in a statement to
Reuters.
"We are actively engaging with shareholders on a variety of
matters" related to the meeting, it said, adding that its direct
relationship with employees, which it calls partners, is "core
to the culture and experiences we create in our stores."
Starbucks has also filed more than 100 charges against the
union.
In its original proxy materials in response to the shareholder
proposal from Trillium Asset Management, the New York City
Pension Funds and other investors, Starbucks said it would
conduct a human rights impact assessment, including certain
international labor rights principles.
On March 3, Starbucks clarified that the assessment would be
conducted by independent third parties and made available by the
end of its fiscal 2023, in October.
(Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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