Labor News & Commentary July 16, 2024 Starbucks decertification campaign fails; and Biden taps new PBGC leader

[Omaha Steve]

https://onlabor.org/july-16-2024/

By John Fry

John Fry is a student at Harvard Law School.

In today’s news and commentary, Teamsters president speaks at RNC; Starbucks decertification campaign fails; and Biden taps new PBGC leader.

Teamsters president Sean O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention yesterday, a historic move that has polarized workers and leaders throughout the labor movement. O’Brien’s speech, the first ever by a union president at the RNC, contained both praise for former President Trump and fiery rhetoric about corporate greed and the shortcomings of current labor law, the latter of which appears to have taken the Milwaukee crowd by surprise. The speech comes amid increasing speculation over the Teamsters’ potential presidential endorsement, as other major unions have rallied behind President Biden. Recent reports suggest that the Teamsters may not endorse any candidate. Within the union, reactions to O’Brien’s RNC appearance have been mixed: one of the union’s leaders has spoken out against it, calling Trump a proven enemy of the labor movement, and other rank-and-file members have noted the contrast between labor policy under Trump and Biden.

The NLRB has rejected a decertification campaign at a Starbucks location in Oregon, the latest in a trend of failed bids by the company to oust the nascent Starbucks Workers United from stores around the country. While workers can typically petition to decertify a union starting one year after the union is elected, this waiting period can be extended if the employer commits unfair labor practices. That is precisely what has happened at over 20 stores, as workers have accused Starbucks of using unlawful union-busting tactics in order to encourage decertification. The Oregon decision shows that this tactic has not been effective, and it may become less prevalent now that the company and the union have re-engaged in collective bargaining, pursuant to a truce of sorts announced earlier this year.

President Biden has selected Deva Kyle to head the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, an agency that insures and oversees union pension plans. The PBGC has been under increasing scrutiny over its dispensation of pension bailout money, which was authorized for the first time ever in 2021 in the American Rescue Plan. The agency overpaid millions of dollars to a Teamsters fund after accidentally including many deceased participants in its calculations. Kyle currently practices employee benefits law at union-side firm Cohen, Weiss and Simon.