Proxy advisor Glass Lewis backs Starbucks in proxy fight with union
Reuters
Published Mar 01, 2024 12:49PM ET
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) on Friday picked up fresh support in its board room fight with a coalition of labor unions over how it reacted to efforts to unionize and the effect those decisions had on the coffee chain's brand and stock price.
Glass Lewis followed Institutional Shareholder Services and recommended that investors re-elect all 11 Starbucks directors and not support any of the three candidates proposed by the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of North American labor unions. The coalition includes the parent of Workers United, which represents Starbucks workers.
"We ultimately believe the SOC's (Strategic Organizing Center) proxy campaign here is simply too myopic and falls well
short of justifying the board changes it is seeking," Glass Lewis wrote in a report seen by Reuters on Friday.
Glass Lewis wrote that Starbucks "has been reasonably responsive" to complaints about pay and work conditions and labor matters more generally.
Shareholders will vote on March 13 unless the two sides reach an agreement beforehand.
This battle has been widely watched because it is among the first board challenges to turn environmental, social and governance issues instead of financial arguments into the campaign's pillars.
Unionized workers make up only a small portion of Starbucks' workforce, but the movement has gained traction with some 370 stores voting to unionize since 2021.
Both sides this week committed to talks aimed at finding ways to reach labor agreements and resolve law suits between the two sides.
Starbucks on Thursday welcomed the ISS recommendation while the union coalition disagreed with it.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.