October 2022 | Volume 14, Issue 2

Watch the full video on CBS News

“Labor Activists Take Union Fight to Jeff Bezos’ and Howard Schultz’s Homes”

According to the article, union supporters decided to send a personal message to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Starbucks interim CEO Howard Schultz. To commemorate Labor Day, activists took their fight to unite workers at the companies to the executives' New York City homes.

Crowds rallied in front of the West 11th Street building in Manhattan where Schultz lives before marching to Bezos' nearby penthouse on Fifth Avenue and 25th Street. Organizers also inflated a 12-foot-tall balloon, dubbed "Scabby the Rat," in front of Bezos' building, temporarily shutting down street traffic.

Labor organizers from Bessemer, Alabama, marched alongside the New Yorkers and gave speeches encouraging workers to organize and demanding that Amazon and Starbucks halt what they described as union-busting tactics. Amazon's warehouse in Bessemer was the first to have a union election, although workers voted against the union both times

"Billionaires have got to go!" yelled Amazon Labor Union President Chris Smalls, who in April led a successful campaign to organize an Amazon warehouse on New York City's Staten Island — the first facility at the retail giant to unionize. Wearing a black ALU shirt and carrying a bullhorn, Smalls led the procession to Times Square. 

"Form your union, organize yourselves, we will support you every step of the way," Isaiah Thomas, an organizer with the Amazon Union, told marchers. 

More than 200 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize but have met fierce resistance from the company. Starbucks has fired organizers and withheld benefits from locations that opted to unionize. The National Labor Relations Board recently forced the coffee chain to reinstate fired organizers in a Tennessee store and is seeking back pay of benefits for all unionized workers.

Amazon tried to overturn the results of the April union vote in Staten Island. The labor board recently denied the company's objections, but Amazon said it plans to appeal the denial. Both companies have denied that their actions amount to union-busting. 

Discussion Questions

1. Comment on the specific practices (referenced in the article) of Amazon and Starbucks employees in trying to form unions at their respective companies. In your opinion, are the Amazon and Starbucks employees exercising reasonable unionization tactics? Explain your response.

This is an opinion question, and student responses will likely vary. Much of the noted activity is in the form of expression, but to the extent that demonstrators are interfering with traffic or interfering with the rights of others, the more likely such activity would be sanctionable. In mediating such situations, law enforcement personnel must be mindful of the rights of workers to demonstrate and express their opinions, while at the same time recognizing the rights of others and the importance of preservation of the peace.

2. Review the specific tactics (referenced in the article) exercised by Amazon and Starbucks in resistance to unionization. Are these tactics (assuming they in fact occurred) illegal? Explain your response.

Please reference the response to Video 1, Discussion Question Number 1 above. Again, much of the noted activity is in the form of expression, but to the extent that demonstrators are interfering with traffic or interfering with the rights of others, the more likely such activity would be sanctionable. In mediating such situations, law enforcement personnel must be mindful of the rights of workers to demonstrate and express their opinions, while at the same time recognizing the rights of others and the importance of preservation of the peace.

3. In your reasoned opinion, will Amazon and/or Starbucks employees be successful in their unionization efforts? Explain your response.

This is an opinion question, so student responses will likely vary. In your author’s opinion, it would be relatively easier to unionize Amazon than Starbucks. A substantial part of Amazon’s business is related to transportation, and transportation has been historically (but not uniformly) unionized. Starbucks operates in the food and drink service industry, which has not been traditionally unionized. Today, those who seek to unionize the food and drink service industry are operating “from the ground up,” while there is already a foundation for unionization of the transportation industry. It is also important to note that a large component of Amazon’s business involves warehousing, which does not have as strong a union foundation as transportation. Finally, one most be mindful of the fact that Amazon and Starbucks are both very strong and successful, and both appear determined to fight to prevent unionization of their respective companies.