Shareholders Push Starbucks to Restore Labor Committee Amid Union Contract Stalemate
SBUX sits 22% above its 52-week low of $77.99 on light trading volume (0.1× avg).
Summary
A previously undisclosed shareholder proposal from New York City's comptroller, joined by the New York state comptroller and Trillium Asset Management, asks Starbucks' board to reinstate a dissolved labor oversight committee. The filers, holding nearly $270 million in shares, argue the company has neglected labor relations under CEO Brian Niccol, citing the absence of a union contract nearly five years after the first store organized. The union represents about 5% of US stores, and the proposal highlights labor as a persistent risk area. This follows the 5th Circuit's September ruling rejecting most NLRB findings against Starbucks and last month's union boycott call. The annual shareholder meeting in March will be the next venue for this fight.
At the time of this announcement, SBUX was trading at $95.52 on NASDAQ in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $108.9B. The 52-week trading range was $77.99 to $110.51. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Reuters.