When a Starbucks opened up in my neighborhood, a number of us saw this as a bad thing and a sign of decline. Of course, since the place seems busy all day with people hanging out (what DO these people do for a living?), it seems like a losing battle to whine about yet another chain encroachment. But!!! Never fear, here’s another reason to avoid Starbucks, as reported in the June 6th issue of Business Week (subscription required):

“For a company that calls its employees “partners,” Starbucks is plenty steamed over attempts by some to join a union. The National Labor Relations Board has set a June 15 hearing on claims that management engaged in illegal anti-union activity to keep employees at a New York Starbucks from joining the Industrial Workers of the World. The IWW local says in the NLRB complaint that management threatened to withhold pay, spied on workers, and offered baseball tickets and health club passes to keep some from joining up. Starbucks officials deny the allegations. Says spokeswoman Audrey Lincoff: “We are pro-partner, and we will not interfere in partners’ right in any decision they choose to make.”

“Starbucks workers announced last year they had formed the company’s first North American union, at the store at 36th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. The union isn’t certified with the NLRB, but employee and organizer Daniel Gross said it has already won concessions, such as higher starting wages in New York and recognition of repetitive stress injuries, and is gaining members. Starbucks officials deny those claims.”