- Starbucks' new CEO Laxman Narasimhan announced he'll spend a half-day every month pulling coffees.
- Organizers say they'd prefer if he $4.
Starbucks' new CEO Laxman Narasimhan has novel $4 but union organizers at the company aren't buying it.
Organizers and pro-union workers at Starbucks have come out since $4 with a slate of criticisms — including his decision to try to put himself in their shoes.
"I'd really prefer it if he stayed out of our way and instead spent 40hrs learning about worker's rights and how NOT to commit thousands of unfair labor practice violations in a year," $4 organizer Michelle Eisen tweeted Friday.
—Michelle Eisen (@michelleeisen) $4
Earlier this week Narasimhan sent a letter to staff obtained by Insider which focused on digital innovation, company culture, and the "partner experience." He did not address the ongoing labor movement at Starbucks, which has resulted in the unionization of hundreds of US stores, $4
During the annual Starbucks shareholder meeting Thursday, Starbucks Workers United announced seven new stores had filed for union elections. The organizing stores span six states, from Kentucky to Colorado. Workers at those stores said they hope the move shows that the labor movement at Starbucks isn't lost on Middle America.
"If Howard Schultz or Laxman Narasimhan think this movement is limited to college towns and coastal cities, they've got another thing coming," Lizzy Prichard, a Starbucks organizer in Ohio, $4 "Union Starbucks partners are here to stay."