Starbucks said Friday that executives who played a key role in the company’s response to the expanding union campaign will resign by the end of the month.
In a letter to employees that Starbucks calls a “partner,” the company’s chief operating officer said Rossann Williams, president of retail in North America, would leave the company 17 years later. The letter said the decision was “preceded by discussions about Rossan’s next opportunity within the company she declined.”
In a letter, Chief Operating Officer John Culver said, “Not only have we been enthusiastic about our partners, but we have also been an advocate for our mission, culture and excellence.” I added.
The campaign has spread rapidly across the country since December, when Buffalo stores became Starbucks’ only unionized approximately 9,000 corporate-owned stores.
The union won more than 80% of the more than 175 elections declared winners by the National Labor Relations Commission, and workers formally sought elections at more than 275 stores.
After workers from three stores in the Buffalo region applied for a union election in August, Williams went to the city, where he spent most of the fall, leading the company’s response to the campaign. She spent hours in the store asking her employees about her workplace concerns and working on tasks such as dumping trash.
However, some workers said it was scary and even “hyperreal” to have such senior officials in their stores.
Labor experts also threaten workers if Williams and other Starbucks employees are stationed in the store, and effectively suggest improved working conditions if employees vote against the union. He expressed concern that this could violate labor law.
The National Labor Relations Commission, after investigating and finding the benefits of the accusation, filed a complaint against the company in line with these policies.
The company has long stated that it has denied violating the law and is trying to address operational issues such as staff shortages and inadequate training.
Williams said she had to intervene in an interview in October, answering questions about whether she or the company could undermine the conditions of a fair union election.
“If I went to the market and saw some of the conditions in these stores and did nothing about it, it would be against my job,” she said at the time. “There is no way to come here and say nothing.”
Culver’s letter stated that Sarah Trilling would replace Williams. Sarah Trilling recently oversaw the company’s operations in the Asia Pacific region.
