Professor James Brudney shared his expert opinion on the impact that the recent move to unionize Starbucks employees will have on the company’s search for a new general counsel in an article by Law360.
As Starbucks searches for a new general counsel against the backdrop of an explosive unionization campaign, legal experts say the coffee giant could benefit from choosing a lawyer trusted by the board and who can help develop parameters for the bargaining table.
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“I think one of the things about a general counsel in a company like Starbucks is that you’re going to have to be … quick on your feet and in your mind with a variety of regulatory regimes,” said James Brudney, a labor and employment professor at Fordham University School of Law.
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“This is a very competitive world, the world of buying individual cups of coffee. To the extent that Starbucks has established itself as the leading brand, it doesn’t want to lose that,” Brudney said. “It could lose at least some meaningful market share if [its clientele]perceive that … its mode of operation is to treat its workers badly.”
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“It’s a question of whether you’re going to use the regulatory machinery to try and prolong or drag out disputes or whether you’re going to try to engage with your workforce if they actually want to be represented by a union,” Brudney said. “If they do want it, then you could cut through the legal process by saying, ‘OK, let’s sit down and negotiate.'”