Dive Brief:

• The Strategic Organizing Center, a labor federation which includes the Starbucks union’s parent organization, is withdrawing its three nominees for Starbucks’ board, according to a press release issued Tuesday. 
• The withdrawal comes a week after Starbucks and Starbucks Workers United announced a framework for discussions on collective bargaining, organizing rights and the resolution of outstanding litigation. “Now is the time to acknowledge the progress that has been made and to allow the Company and its workers to focus on moving forward. As such, we are withdrawing our director nominations,” SOC said in a statement.
• The coffee chain’s shareholders will vote on board nominations on March 13. Over the last week, Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services, two proxy advisory firms, lined up in support of Starbucks’ board nominations. 

Dive Insight:

The end of the proxy fight may be a gesture of goodwill on the part of organized labor, analogous to Starbucks’ “good faith” decision last week to extend benefits first announced in the spring of 2022, including credit card tipping, to union stores which were initially excluded from those perks.

However, the SOC made clear its decision was conditional on Starbucks continuing to work with the union.

“It’s imperative that shareholders continue to monitor the Board’s performance and Starbucks’ approach to labor relations issues in the coming months – and we plan to continue to hold the Company accountable going forward,” the labor federation said in a statement.

In a statement texted to Restaurant Dive, Starbucks said it appreciated the SOC’s decision.

“The best days of Starbucks are ahead,” the company said. “We are focused on doing what we do best when we are at our best: bridging to a better future for our partners.”

The SOC said it conferred with Starbucks shareholders following the chain and union’s agreement on a “path forward” last week, and feels that Starbucks “has committed to these changes in good faith and intends to repair its relationship with its workers. The organization, which is a minor stakeholder in the coffee company, added that the improved dynamic will “enhance performance and shareholder value.”

The SOC said it still felt that its nominees, Maria Echaveste, Wilma Liebman, and Josh Gotbaum, were qualified to serve on the board, but that it was withdrawing their nominations in acknowledgment of the progress in the relationship between the coffee giant and its organized workers.