Dear John,

Major corporations -- from Tesla, Nike, and FedEx, to Google, Disney, and AT&T -- suck up billions of dollars each year in tax dollars through subsidies and direct investment by federal, state, and local governments. Amazon receives more than $3.5 billion in tax dollars, Starbucks more than $4 million, and Apple more than $1.7 billion.^[1]

Meanwhile, these companies are spending millions on union-busting. Amazon spent $4.3 million on anti-union consultants last year alone.^[2] Starbucks isn’t far behind.^[3]

Now, from Bessemer, Alabama to Staten Island, New York, the National Labor Relations Board has been holding Amazon accountable, including forcing new labor elections after citing Amazon for illegally interfering during the first votes.^[4] The NLRB cited Starbucks for 29 unfair labor practice charges that included over 200 violations of the National Labor Relations Act.^[1] Two new charges were just filed against Apple for illegal union-busting at their World Trade Center Store.^[5]

That’s the good news. Under President Biden, the National Labor Relations Board is a renewed force aggressively protecting workers rights. The bad news is that a revived NLRB alone hasn’t stopped these law breaking corporations from receiving billions in tax dollars and subsidies.

We’ve got to put a stop to this. Tell President Biden and Congress: Stop giving federal handouts to multibillion-dollar companies that violate labor laws.

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Howard Schultz -- choose your (least) favorite CEO and think about all of the taxpayer money added to their bottom line. Not to mention the taxpayer money that funds their outrageous executive bonuses and multi-million dollar anti-union campaigns.

It’s sickening.

President Biden could stop this now. After all, he campaigned on a promise to "ensure federal dollars do not flow to employers who engage in union-busting activities, participate in wage theft, or violate labor law.”^[2]

The president could issue an executive order denying federal contracts to corporations deemed to have broken the law by the National Labor Relations Board. Congress could pass legislation to pause, limit, or completely scrap subsidies and stop federal tax dollars from being spent. The Department of Defense could update the Federal Acquisitions Regulation process to include compliance with labor law.^[6]

Amazon, Starbucks, and Apple are using their federal handouts to help fund their illegal union-busting. Tell President Biden and Congress to stop giving tax dollars to these anti-union bullies now.

As workers rise up to fight for better lives and demand dignity from the corporations they make profitable, it is absolutely critical that our leaders in D.C. stand with them.

Thanks for speaking up and demanding action.

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action

^{[1] “Starbucks hit with sweeping labor complaint including over 200 alleged violations,” CNBC
[2] “Sanders speaks out against law-breaking corporations,” Salon
[3] “Starbucks’s Multimillion-Dollar Anti-Union Effort May Have Backfired,” TruthOut
[4] “Labor regulators find merit in accusations by unions at Amazon and Starbucks,” New York Times
[5] “Apple accused of union busting at World Trade Center store,” Fox Business
[6] “Obama-era executive orders on federal contractors are important tools to raise wages and boost living standards,” Economic Policy Institute}