Labor foe Schultz returns as Starbucks union effort grows

By DEE-ANN DURBIN
AP Business Writer

From the time he bought Starbucks in 1987 to the time he stepped down as chairman in 2018, Howard Schultz successfully fought attempts to unionize Starbucks’ U.S. stores. But Schultz, who will step in as Starbucks’ interim chief executive in April, never confronted a unionization movement as big and fast-growing as the current one. Six U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since December, and at least 140 more have filed for union elections. It’s unclear how Schultz will tackle the issue. Starbucks insists it will respect the law, but says its stores function best without unions.