Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. labor
    • ex. Many companies go overseas to find cheap labor.
    • ex. The court said that Circle Tech didn’t break any laws.
    • ex. I’m sorry for wrongfully calling Kevin a liar. He was telling the truth.
    • ex. Unions fought to create weekends and eight-hour workdays.
    • ex. My friend claims that he saw a UFO, but I think it was probably a balloon.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

Font size

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is asking a US court to make Starbucks rehire three workers. According to the NLRB, Starbucks wrongfully fired these employees because they were members of a union organizing committee. In recent years, 30 Starbucks stores have joined unions and over 220 more stores are planning to vote on it.

Pro-union Starbucks workers say that they want better pay, benefits, scheduling, and safety. The NLRB has received more than 100 complaints from Starbucks employees who say they lost their jobs after showing support for joining a union. Kolton Gosnell, a college student who worked at Starbucks as a shift manager, says that he was wrongfully fired for wearing a union pin and speaking at pro-union demonstrations.

Starbucks says that Gosnell and the other employees were fired for breaking rules. Gosnell, for example, went behind the counter and made himself a drink even though he was signed out. Gosnell agreed that he broke Starbucks policy, but he explained that many employees do the same and never get in trouble. He claims that Starbucks fired him because of his pro-union position.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Starbucks

  • Do you agree that Starbucks wrongfully fired Gosnell? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you're Gosnell. Would you like to be rehired by Starbucks? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, why is Starbucks so popular all over the world (ex. cool image, good drinks)? Discuss.

Unions

  • In your opinion, why do companies like Starbucks fight unions so much? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you're a Starbucks employee. Will you vote yes to join a union? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think it’s okay for union workers to go on strike sometimes? Why or why not? Discuss.