Starbucks’ new CEO Brian Niccol pledges to work with unions

Starbucks Chief Executive Brian Nicol said the coffee chain was negotiating in good faith with the union that represents many of its baristas and that the two sides were working to craft a labor agreement.

“I deeply respect the right of partners to choose to be represented by a union through a fair and democratic process,” Nicol wrote in a letter to the union on Tuesday, which was obtained by CNBC. “Should partners choose to be represented, we are committed to negotiating constructively and in good faith with the union and the partners they represent.”

he, Letter from the Starbucks Workers Coalition The negotiating delegation was sent out a day before a new round of talks between Starbucks and the union. The two sides are negotiating a framework that will form the basis of a collective bargaining agreement between individual stores and the company. The union is seeking fair work schedules, a minimum wage, and racial and gender equality, the delegation said in the letter.

“We know that many of your loyal customers, and future generations of customers, have a significant interest in the outcome of our negotiations and the achievement of an agreement in principle,” the group wrote in its letter to Nicol.

Three years ago, Starbucks baristas began organizing under Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. For two and a half years, the coffee giant tried to block the unionization, in a fight that played out in newspaper headlines, on social media and in court.

But a turning point for the two sides came six months ago, when they agreed to work together on a way forward following mediation to resolve a lawsuit sparked by the union’s social media posts.

Nicole joined Starbucks just a few weeks ago, making her a newcomer to the union discussions. Chipotle Mexican GrillBut only one location, in Lansing, Michigan, has successfully organized a union. Last year, the burrito chain agreed to pay former employees at an Augusta, Maine, location $240,000 as part of a settlement for shutting down a restaurant when workers tried to unionize. Chipotle has denied any wrongdoing.

Today, Workers United represents more than 490 Starbucks cafes and more than 10,500 employees in the U.S. The company has more than 16,700 stores in the U.S., more than half of which are company-owned.