News & Commentary March 31, 2023

[Omaha Steve]

https://onlabor.org/march-31-2023/

By Greg Volynsky

Greg Volynsky is a student at Harvard Law School.

In Today’s News & Commentary, Starbucks faces shareholder pressure for an independent review of worker rights, McDonald’s workers appeal lawsuit over no-poach agreements, NYT employees take to twitter over stalled collective bargaining agreement, Seattle becomes first American city to establish permanent paid sick and safe time benefits for gig workers, and Major League Baseball reaches a tentative collective bargaining agreement with minor league players.

Starbucks shareholders voted in favor of a non-binding resolution for an independent review of the company’s worker rights’ practices. The vote took place last week, but the result was revealed in an SEC filing on Wednesday. The news comes as Starbucks founder and former CEO Howard Schulz testified in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee, as Anita reported. The shareholder vote puts additional pressure on the company, which has drawn widespread public scrutiny for its approach to unions for several years.

Two former McDonald’s employees are appealing to the Seventh Circuit to reinstate a lawsuit against the company for allegedly suppressing wages through a no-poach agreement. The workers argue that the agreement is a per se violation of federal antitrust law, while McDonald’s contends it was meant to protect training investments and encourage cooperation. A federal judge in Illinois ruled in favor of McDonald’s. If the appeals court upholds this decision, franchisors may feel more comfortable using no-poach and no-hire contracts. If the appeals court reverses, antitrust violations predicated on similar agreements would become easier to prove, including in ongoing DOJ investigations and prosecutions.

New York Times employees took to twitter to lament that members of the NYT Guild have not had a CBA for two years. One photo featured dozens of NYT employees and an “Unhappy Anniversary” cake, which proclaimed in icing, “NYT to Guild: Eat Cake!”

FULL story at link above.