NLRB ruling | Former Starbucks CEO broke labor law by telling unhappy employee to “go work for another company"

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz broke federal labor law by telling a barista “if you’re not happy at Starbucks, you can go work for another company,” the National Labor Relations Board has ruled.

While serving as interim CEO in 2022, Schultz spoke with a California-based employee who raised concerns about unionization. According to the decision announced by the NLRB Wednesday, his response was an unlawful and coercive threat.

Schultz’s tenure as CEO was characterized by frequent disputes with employees seeking to organize as unionization at Starbucks stores swelled across the US.

What ‘unlawful’ threat did Starbucks’ former CEO make?

In 2022, Schultz appeared at an event in Long Beach, California, focused on improving working conditions at Starbucks sites.