Starbucks leads business opposition to pro-worker labor board

livemint.com:

Starbucks heads to the Supreme Court on Tuesday in a bid to limit a government labor board that has been eager to support union drives, a case that comes as other top companies are mounting aggressive defenses against the agency. In the Biden-era, the National Labor Relations Board has pursued the boldest enforcement agenda in recent memory to bolster worker protections. The board, which referees disputes between employers and workers, has expanded pathways for forming a union and made it easier for employees to challenge workplace practices.

It also has broadened the types of remedial compensation workers can receive if an employer treats them unfairly. The NLRB has brought a dozen cases seeking court injunctions against Starbucks alone, challenging the coffee chain’s responses to unionization efforts. With an aggressive board, union organizing has increased across the U.S.

In 2023, more than 100,000 workers organized in NLRB-conducted elections, the largest in a single year since 2000. The organizing push in recent years has expanded beyond traditional manufacturing settings into the technology sector, major retail chains and other areas. “The amount of union activity is surging where you would not expect to see it," said Steven Suflas, who practices employment law at Holland & Hart.

“And some of the companies suing have acrimonious relationships with the NLRB these days. You hit me, I hit you. It’s a recipe for chaos." The Starbucks case at the Supreme Court is an outgrowth of an employee unionizing campaign at a store in Memphis, Tenn.