US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at a protest in front of the Supreme Court during a rally for student debt cancellation in Washington, DC, on February 28, 2023. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
Washington: Senator Bernie Sanders is moving to subpoena Starbucks Corp. Chief Executive Howard Schultz to testify before his committee on alleged labor violations.
The Vermont independent has scheduled a March 8 vote in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to compel Schultz to appear before the panel. Sanders previously invited Schultz to testify voluntarily about complaints filed to the National Labor Relations Board that the coffee chain has violated federal labor laws.
Starbucks has denied the allegations.
"This is a disappointing development, but we will continue our dialogue with Chairman Sanders’ staff and are optimistic that we’ll come to an appropriate resolution,” Starbucks spokesman Andrew Tull said in a statement on Wednesday.
Sanders needs a simple majority of his committee, which has a Democratic majority, to issue the subpoena. The committee is also expected to vote to authorize an investigation into major corporations’ labor law violations.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Schultz has given us no choice, but to subpoena him” Sanders, who votes with Democrats, said in a statement. "A multibillion dollar corporation like Starbucks cannot continue to break federal labor law with impunity. The time has come to hold Starbucks and Mr. Schultz accountable.”
