Alexis Rizzo, the Starbucks employee who ignited the Starbucks Workers United union campaign was terminated just days after former CEO Howard Schultz testified on Capitol Hill concerning alleged union-busting.
(Video Credit: CNBC Television)
Rizzo has been a shift supervisor at the coffee chain for seven years. She is also a union leader at the Genesee St. store in Buffalo, New York. It was one of the first two outlets in the country to unionize.
Her firing was announced by Starbucks Workers United via a tweet that was sent out on Saturday. On the union’s GoFundMe page, they proclaimed, “This is retaliation at its worst.”
“I’m absolutely heartbroken. It wasn’t just a job for me. It was like my family,” Rizzo told CNBC during an interview. “It was like losing everything. I’ve been there since I was 17 years old. It’s like my entire support system, and I think that they knew that.”
Managers terminated Rizzo after she finished her shift on Friday, taking her by total surprise. She was given the reason that it was because she had been late on four occasions. In two of those instances, she was reportedly only one minute late.
(Video Credit: ABC News)
Starbucks claimed to CNBC in an interview that Rizzo had missed over four hours during the course of her tardiness. They said she had been repeatedly issued write-ups for being late as well.
Rachel Wall, a spokesperson for Starbucks, asserted that terminations only occur following clear violations of policies. She pointed to numerous attendance violations.
“We appreciate that our Genesee St. partners provided the Starbucks Experience to each other and our customers this morning, and that area stores continue to serve customers without interruption this weekend,” she said in a statement to CNBC.
As for Rizzo, she believes that the Senate hearing on Wednesday with Schultz triggered her termination.
Two days after CEO Howard Schultz testified before the U.S. Senate on Starbucks’ illegal union-busting campaign, Starbucks fired Lexi Rizzo, a 7-year shift supervisor and the person who first started this campaign and ignited a movement. https://t.co/N246Yf0YEn
— Starbucks Workers United (@SBWorkersUnited) April 1, 2023
Schultz was grilled by well-known socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders over the company’s labor and union practices. Sanders is very pro-union, hailing from Vermont. He has applied ever-increasing pressure on Starbucks over the past year to recognize the union and negotiate contracts with unionized cafes.
Sanders chairs the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which conducted the panel that barraged the former CEO with a ton of questions.
Sanders accused Starbucks of engaging in the “most aggressive and illegal union-busting campaign in the modern history of our country.” He also charged them with stalling on collective bargaining agreements, counting on workers to give up and leave the coffee chain before an agreement could be reached.
Schultz defended his company and its approach to union negotiations. He claimed that a direct relationship with workers is what is best for Starbucks. He denied over and over again that the company had broken federal labor law. Schultz also contended that his time as CEO was spent 99% on operations, not handling union issues.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that two days after Howard Schultz had his ego bruised the way that he did that he started lashing out at Buffalo,” Rizzo asserted. She noted that two other employees were fired on Friday as well.
Instead of negotiating a first union contract as required by law, Starbucks has chosen to double down on its illegal union busting by firing Alexis Rizzo, a union leader in Buffalo who worked for Starbucks for 7 years. That is beyond unacceptable. Ms. Rizzo must be reinstated.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 2, 2023
According to CNBC:
Nearly 300 Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize under Starbucks Workers United, according to data from the National Labor Relations Board. In total, the union has made more than 500 complaints of unfair labor practices related to Starbucks with the federal labor board. Starbucks has filed roughly 100 of its own complaints against the union. Judges have found that the company has broken federal labor law 130 times.
“The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has found Starbucks guilty of excluding unionized employees from receiving pay raises, tips, and benefits, as well as refusing to engage in contract negotiations with unionized stores,” Quartz reported. “In March, an NLRB judge ruled that the company violated labor laws hundreds of times in Buffalo, ordering the reinstatement of seven unfairly fired employees.”
A contract has not been agreed upon yet between any of the unionized stores and Starbucks.
Rizzo claims she is still “in shock” over being fired, but she plans to fight back.
“We’re going to keep fighting to make things right,” she remarked. “I’m going to fight for my job back and to get reinstated.”
“To me, this is payback, and it’s vindictive and retaliatory, and just simple mean-spirited.” Richard Bensinger, a union organizer and senior advisor to Starbucks Workers United, said in an interview with The Buffalo News.
Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- Crushing $5 TRILLION tax increase to hit nearly every American comes with a new Biden term, Norquist warns - April 16, 2024
- ‘This is domestic terrorism’: Old Glory burns, ‘death to America’ chant rings out in NYC streets - April 16, 2024
- Trump’s gorgeous and glamorous right-hand woman steals the spotlight, stands beside him in court - April 16, 2024
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
