{"id":360898,"date":"2026-09-30T16:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/360898\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T16:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:08:10","slug":"nyc-comptroller-levine-nys-comptroller-dinapoli-and-trillium-asset-management-llc-press-starbucks-to-restore-independent-board-oversight-of-labor-relations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/360898\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC Comptroller Levine, NYS Comptroller DiNapoli, and Trillium Asset Management, LLC Press Starbucks to Restore Independent Board Oversight of Labor Relations"},"content":{"rendered":"

September 30, 2026<\/p>\n

Shareholder proposal calls for re-establishing the Environmental, Partner, and Community Impact Committee, dissolved in November 2025, amid ongoing labor disputes<\/p>\n

New York, NY \u2014 Ahead of Starbucks\u2019 (NASDAQ: SBUX) 2027 annual meeting of shareholders New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, on behalf of four of the New York City pension funds, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, as trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, and the Trillium Asset Management ESG Global Equity Fund have filed a shareholder proposal<\/a> at the company asking the Board of Directors to reestablish the Environmental, Partner, and Community Impact Committee (EPCI Committee) \u2014 a standing committee of independent directors whose responsibilities would include overseeing policies and practices related to labor relations.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost five years after the first successful unionization vote at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, the company has yet to reach a collective bargaining agreement and is contending with hundreds of open unfair labor practices charges,\u201d said New York State Comptroller DiNapoli. \u201cRather than strengthening oversight of these issues, the board eliminated the committee responsible for doing so. Reestablishing the EPCI Committee would restore independent oversight of labor risks and help protect long-term shareholder value.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStarbucks cannot continue to treat labor relations as an afterthought,\u201d said New York City Comptroller Mark Levine. \u201cInvestors want accountability, not more rhetoric that makes broad claims that the company is back while ignoring the very real concerns of the status of their workforce engagement. Myriad labor challenges, including the status of an agreement on a first contract with unionized employees remain unaddressed. This is no way to ensure the long-term success of the company. The board must bring back a dedicated committee to acknowledge shareholder concerns and reprioritize independent oversight if they are serious about the future of the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStarbucks may have dissolved the EPCI Committee, but it did not dissolve its labor risks,\u201d said Trillium Asset Management Chief Advocacy Officer Jonas Kron. \u201cBrian Niccol has now been CEO for almost two years, yet the company\u2019s most persistent labor challenges remain unresolved and there is still no first contract. The board should bring back the committee, restore dedicated independent oversight, and demonstrate that Starbucks is serious about managing these risks for the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

The EPCI Committee was created in November 2023, after a majority of Starbucks shareholders supported a proposal calling for an assessment of the Company\u2019s adherence to its stated commitment to workers\u2019 freedom of association and collective bargaining rights. The Committee\u2019s charter directed it to monitor the Company\u2019s \u201cenvironmental, partner, community, customer, and farmer promises,\u201d and its first charge was to \u201c[o]versee policies and practices related to labor relations.\u201d In November 2025, the Board dissolved the Committee, distributed its responsibilities across other committees, and returned primary responsibility for labor matters to the full Board \u2014 which is chaired by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol.<\/p>\n

The filers say that returning labor relations oversight to the full Board at the same time that authority has been consolidated in a combined CEO-Chair risks diluting the intensity, depth, continuity, and independence of oversight of one of the Company\u2019s most significant and persistent risk areas \u2014 creating a potential gap in independent oversight and accountability. Starbucks\u2019 2025 Annual Report identifies labor relations as a material risk, noting that work stoppages and other disruptions have \u201cthe potential to negatively impact our operations, third-party providers upon whom we rely to deliver product, our sales and customer flow in impact locations, our costs, and can also have a negative impact on our reputation and brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposal points to the current state of the Company\u2019s labor relations:<\/p>\n

The first stores organized a union in 2021, and there is still no collective bargaining agreement, despite reports that 700 stores and more than 12,000 baristas have voted to unionize.
\nStarbucks is reported to face almost 600 open unfair labor practice charges, including at least 50 filed so far in 2026.
\nIn late 2025, more than 100 lawmakers alleged that Starbucks engaged in \u201cunion-busting\u201d activities and urged the Company to resume negotiations.
\nIn 2026, independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council sent letters to Starbucks and the U.S. government requesting responses to allegations of unfair labor practices.<\/p>\n

The filing follows sustained investor engagement on the issue. In January 2026, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, SOC Investment Group, the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE), and Trillium wrote to Starbucks\u2019 lead independent director and the chair of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee seeking an explanation for the Committee\u2019s apparent elimination. In February 2026, joined by the Merseyside Pension Fund, they urged shareholders to vote against the re-election of directors J\u00f8rgen Vig Knudstorp and Beth Ford, citing failed oversight of labor relations. Both directors were reelected at the March 25, 2026, annual meeting, with opposition well above the S&P 500 average.<\/p>\n

The filers note that a separate shareholder proposal filed with Starbucks in August 2026 by SOC Investment Group, which asks the Board to adopt a policy requiring that the Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer roles be held by different people. This proposal complements the EPCI shareholder proposal. The EPCI filers welcome that proposal and view it as constructive and well-designed. The two proposals offer shareholders complementary ways to support strengthened independent oversight at a company where labor relations remain a significant and unresolved risk.<\/p>\n

By re-establishing the Committee, the filers believe Starbucks could provide more effective oversight, mitigate risks stemming from its workforce management, and protect shareholder value. The investors have offered to meet with the Company to discuss these matters further.<\/p>\n

The shareholders have a collective total of 2.82 million\u00a0Starbucks shares as of June 30, 2026.<\/p>\n

Read the shareholder proposal in full at:\u00a0https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/2027-Starbucks-Proposal-Requesting-Re-Establishment-of-EPCI-Committee.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition to Comptroller Levine, trustees of the four aforementioned funds are as follows:<\/p>\n

Teachers\u2019 Retirement System of the City of New York (TRS): Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s appointee Ahmer Qadeer, Director and Chief Pension Investment Advisor, Mayor\u2019s Office of Pensions and Investments; Alan Ong, Chair, New York City Public Schools Panel for Educational Policy; and Thomas Brown (Board Chair), Victoria Lee, and Christina McGrath, all of the United Federation of Teachers<\/p>\n

New York City Employees\u2019 Retirement System (NYCERS):\u202fMayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s representative Ahmer Qadeer, Director and Chief Pension Investment Advisor, Mayor\u2019s Office of Pensions and Investments (Board Chair); New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Borough Presidents: Donovan Richards Jr. (Queens), Antonio Reynoso (Brooklyn), Vanessa L. Gibson (Bronx), Brad Hoylman-Sigal (Manhattan), and Vito Fossella (Staten Island); Henry Garrido, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; John Chiarello, President, Transport Workers Union Local 100; and Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237<\/p>\n

New York City Police Pension Fund (Police): Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s representative Ahmer Qadeer, Director and Chief Pension Investment Advisor, Mayor\u2019s Office of Pensions and Investments; New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch (Board Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Richard Lee; Patrick Hendry, President, Albert Alcierno, First Vice President, Betty Carradero, Second Vice President and Mike Freeman, Chair, all of the NYC Police Benevolent Association; Chris Monahan, President, Captains Endowment Association; Louis Turco, President, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; Vincent Vallelong, President, Sergeants Benevolent Association; and Scott Munro, President, Detectives Endowment Association<\/p>\n

New York City Fire Pension Fund (Fire): Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s representative Ahmer Qadeer, Director and Chief Pension Investment Advisor, Mayor\u2019s Office of Pensions and Investments; New York City Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore (Board Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Richard Lee; Robert Eustace, President, Dennis Tveter, Vice President, Chris Viola, Treasurer, and Bob Unger, Chair, all of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; Sean Michael, Chief\u2019s Rep., Liam Guilfoyle, Captain\u2019s Rep., and Joe Camastro, Lieutenants\u2019 Rep., all of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and John Young, President, Marine Engineers Association<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 30, 2026 Shareholder proposal calls for re-establishing the Environmental, Partner, and Community Impact Committee, dissolved in November…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,56,63,65,64],"class_list":["post-360898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/360899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}