Starbucks shareholders are pushing to remove two board members whom they accuse of allowing the coffee chain's long-running union dispute to fester. The SOC Investment Group, Trillium Asset Management, the Merseyside Pension Fund, the Shareholder Association for Research and Education, and the New York state and city comptrollers have written to shareholders urging a “no” vote on the re-election of Jørgen Vig Knudstorp and Beth Ford at the annual meeting on 25 March.
More than 680 Starbucks stores have voted to unionise since the organising campaign began in 2021. The union has reached 34 tentative agreements with the company, but no final contract has been signed. In November 2025, workers began an unfair labour practice strike, escalating through the holiday season with several thousand staff walking out, before tapering to more targeted actions and public campaigns.
In their letter, the shareholders argue that Knudstorp, a former Lego chief executive, and Ford, chief executive of Land O’Lakes, bear responsibility for the dispute, having held positions overseeing labour relations and investor engagement. They criticised a “sudden U-turn” in board oversight that had not been explained to investors. Brian Niccol, Starbucks’s chief executive, had pledged to engage “constructively and in good faith” when he took the role in 2024, but critics say that promise has not been kept.
Tejal Patel, executive director of the SOC Investment Group, said: “There was a shift in 2025 which raised renewed concerns for us. Labor disputes have continued. Bargaining has not produced a first contract, and risks associated with workforce relations have intensified rather than diminished.” Two proxy firms have also warned of financial and reputational risks. Institutional Shareholder Services noted a recent $38.9m settlement over New York City fair workweek laws, while Glass Lewis recommended voting against the board members, citing the dissolution of a board committee created in 2023 to oversee labour relations.
The union is seeking a minimum starting wage of $17 an hour, annual pay rises above inflation, and at least three baristas per store. Daisy Pitkin, director of Starbucks Workers United, said Starbucks had made no proposals since April 2025, when workers rejected its economic package. Jasmine Leli, a Buffalo barista where the campaign began, said workers continue to file unfair labour practice charges. “We continue to file unfair labour practice charges every single day,” she said.
