Tech
Why Starbucks, Apple And Google Are Unionizing Now For The First Time
Since December, workers have led a surge of unionization unlike anything this country has seen since the Great Depression. It’s happening at arduous workplaces like one Amazon warehouse in New York, but it’s also hitting an entirely new sector: retail and big tech. First-ever unions have now formed at more than 200 Starbucks, an Apple store in Maryland, a Google Fiber contractor, REI, Trader Joe’s, Kickstarter, and a gaming division of Microsoft. Here’s why experts say it’s happening now, and why these progressive companies are fighting back against the movements.
Amazon has captured headlines for union drives at its warehouses, including a successful effort on New York’s Staten Island. But activity is picking up elsewhere in retail and tech at big companies that are generally viewed as progressive, with no history of labor unions.
As of Wednesday, 209 Starbucks stores have officially voted to unionize according to the National Labor Relations Board. First-ever unions have also formed at an Apple store in Maryland, a Google Fiber contractor, REI, Trader Joe’s, Kickstarter and Activision Blizzard.
“There’s really no rational world in which the Amazon Labor Union or Starbucks Workers United should win,” said John Logan, a labor and employment studies professor at San Francisco State University. “And yet they did, and in the case of Starbucks Workers United, they won over and over and over again.”
The wave at Starbucks started in December with a store in Buffalo, New York, where workers voted 19 to eight to join the large, established Workers United union. In one example of the benefits a big union can bring, Workers United has created a $1 million fund to support Starbucks workers who lose wages as a result of organizing activities like striking.
The movement spread fast. Within six weeks, about 20 other stores filed for elections. Eight months later, about 45 elections have failed, and more than 200 of Starbucks’ 9,000 U.S. stores have unionized.
“A lot of it is concentrated amongst young workers, sometimes college-educated young workers, often working in sort of low-paying service sector jobs: overworked, underpaid, overeducated workers,” Logan said. He said their level of enthusiasm is causing a rush of panic elsewhere in the corporate world.
“The CEOs of all of these big companies are horrified by what happened at Starbucks and they’re thinking this is what we want to avoid at all costs,” Logan said.
CNBC talked to workers inside the unions forming at Starbucks and Apple about why the movements are gaining traction now.
“It has to do with the pandemic,” said Laura Garza, a barista who helped organize her New York City-based Starbucks location, which voted to unionize in April. “It made a lot of workers that continued to work during the pandemic reevaluate what is most important to them. And honestly, it has to go to better pay, livable wage for everybody.”
In addition to the pandemic conditions, numerous other factors have collided to create what labor experts call a perfect storm for organizing. The U.S. has seen four decades of stagnant wages. Companies that already had healthy profits before the pandemic made even more money after lockdowns. And there are lots of jobs available without enough applicants to fill them. What’s more, the Biden administration is pro-union.
In May, Garza and organizers from Amazon and other companies were invited to the White House to discuss their efforts with Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh.
“They heard some of our stories of fierce anti-union busting, not only from Starbucks but from Amazon,” Garza said of her visit to the White House. “Secretary Walsh said in particular that Starbucks should just come to the table with its partners and work together to collaborate.”
Starbucks criticized the visit and requested its own White House meeting, which hasn’t happened.
Watch this deep dive to learn more.
Chapters:
1:40 Why they organized
5:28 Why Apple and Starbucks fight back
10:24 What unionized workers want
» Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision
About CNBC: From ‘Wall Street’ to ‘Main Street’ to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more.
Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: https://www.cnbc.com/
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC
#cnbc
Why Starbucks, Apple And Google Are Unionizing Now For The First Time
source
Watch updates on major stock market averages and tech stocks as trade talks progress on between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
» Subscribe to CNBC: http://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
About CNBC: From ‘Wall Street’ to ‘Main Street’ to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more.
Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: http://www.cnbc.com/
Find CNBC News on Facebook: http://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: http://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Google+: http://cnb.cx/PlusCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: http://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC
CNBC live price updates: Markets, trade talks and tech stocks — Wednesday, Aug. 29 2018 | CNBC
source
Apple unveiled its home speaker during WWDC 2017 on Monday. The device, called HomePod, will go toe-to-toe with existing competitors such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home.
» Subscribe to CNBC: http://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
About CNBC: From ‘Wall Street’ to ‘Main Street’ to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more.
Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: http://www.cnbc.com/
Find CNBC News on Facebook: http://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: http://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Google+: http://cnb.cx/PlusCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: http://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC
First Look At Apple’s HomePod, An Amazon Echo Competitor | CNBC
source
Snapchat’s parent files for an IPO, which may make it the largest tech company to go public in years.
» Subscribe to CNBC: http://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
About CNBC: From ‘Wall Street’ to ‘Main Street’ to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more.
Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: http://www.cnbc.com/
Find CNBC News on Facebook: http://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: http://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Google+: http://cnb.cx/PlusCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: http://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC
Snap, Inc. Quietly Files For Public Offering | Tech Bet | CNBC
source
U.S. voters passed 40 ballot measures putting limits on AI data centers this week, as huge 1GW AI data centers from OpenAI, Meta, SpaceXAI, Amazon, Google and more push up water and power bills and put a strain on local resources. One of the issues that continues to come up is water usage, which is needed to cool the GPUs inside data centers running AI workloads. Closed-loop liquid cooling keeps water use low inside many modern AI data centers, but external cooling is still needed to move heat outside of the buildings and that requires large amounts of power or water in hot climates. CNBC visited data centers and spoke to researchers to find out the truth about how data centers use water.
Producer and Reporter: Katie Tarasov
Edited by: Erin Black, Matthew Soto
Camera: Andrew Evers
Senior Director of Video: Jeniece Pettitt
Animation: Jason Reginato, Emily Park
Additional Footage: AMD, CoolIT, DeepX, Equinix, Getty Images, Meta, Micron, Nvidia, SK Hynix, TSMC
» Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision
About CNBC: From ‘Wall Street’ to ‘Main Street’ to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more.
Want to get ahead at work? Then you need to learn how to make effective small talk. In CNBC’s new online course, How To Talk To People At Work, expert instructors teach you how to use everyday conversation to gain visibility, build meaningful relationships and advance your career. Sign up now: https://cnb.cx/4sGlSkh
Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: https://www.cnbc.com/
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC on Threads: https://cnb.cx/threads
Follow CNBC News on X: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC on WhatsApp: https://cnb.cx/WhatsAppCNBC
#cnbc
The Less Water Data Centers Use, The More Power They Consume. Here’s Why
source
Jennifer Fonstad, Aspect Ventures, discusses whether startups may get a major boost from the incoming administration’s infrastructure plans.
» Subscribe to CNBC: http://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
About CNBC: From ‘Wall Street’ to ‘Main Street’ to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more.
Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: http://www.cnbc.com/
Find CNBC News on Facebook: http://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: http://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Google+: http://cnb.cx/PlusCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: http://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC
Silicon Valley Eyes Donald Trump Tech Effect | Squawk Box | CNBC
source
-
Food3 years ago
Kardea Brown’s Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole | Delicious Miss Brown | Food Network
-
Politics3 years ago
Russia hawks to Putin apologists: GOP stonewalls Ukraine aid, Tucker Carlson’s trip to Moscow
-
News3 years ago
White House warns of Russia invasion in Ukraine before end of Olympics
-
Sports3 years ago
Top 10 Saves from Week 13 of the 2021-22 NHL Season
-
Politics3 years ago
George Conway: ‘Lying, intimidating, bullying. That’s Trump at his worst, and that’s Trump always’
-
News3 years ago
Rare audio of enslaved people connects history to the present
-
Business2 years ago
Stellantis CEO Says ‘No Taboos’ on Brands as Profit Falls
-
News2 years ago
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are officially the Democratic nominees, speaking in their first rally
-
Fashion2 years ago
Wool & Wanderlust by Sean Suen, Paris Men Fall/Winter 2025-26 | FashionTV | FTV
-
Politics12 months ago
FBI Director Kash Patel throws temper tantrum after news reports of his private jet use