US Workers Fight Union Busting with Starbucks Union Petition

Despite a surge in public support for labor unions, employers are using threats, intimidation, and retaliatory firings to suppress union organizing. One out of every five union election campaigns involves a claim that a worker was fired in retaliation for union organizing. The penalties for incurring unfair practice violations are slight, and employers are able to suppress workers’ ability to form unions with no repercussions. Workers and their supporters are fighting back, and Senator Bernie Sanders and the US Senate’s health, education, labor and pensions (Help) committee recently held hearings on union busting. The tension between popularity and pushback has prompted the need to pass legislation such as the Pro act, reintroduced in Congress this year, which would establish financial penalties of at least $50,000 for labor law violations.