Matthew Bodie

Matthew Bodie

Professor of Law
Robins Kaplan Professor of Law

Prof. Matthew Bodie Quoted by ABC News About Holiday Starbucks Strike

Professor Matthew Bodie was quoted by ABC News about the largest work stoppage ever carried out by unionized workers at Starbucks. It involved strikes at more than 300 stores in dozens of cities nationwide. The union and the company remain without a collective bargaining agreement at organized stores. Monthslong negotiations recently broke off over a disagreement about economic issues, including potential wage increases. Pointing to the company’s reputation as liberal-minded employer, According to Prof. Bodie, any delay by Starbucks in reaching a collective bargaining agreement risks offending its customers. He said, “Starbucks has to continually worry about getting a new generation of customers on board with their product.” But he added that federal labor law affords wide latitude for a company to delay a collective bargaining agreement and lacks the large penalties necessary to compel an agreement, granting Starbucks sizable leverage over the next step in the labor dispute. “The traditional management playbook is to fight, fight, fight. I see it as largely a decision for Starbucks to make because our system gives so much power and discretion to companies in how they manage collective bargaining.”