On this edition of Your Call, we discuss what we learned from Wednesday morning's US Senate committee hearing called “No company is above the law: The need to end illegal union busting at Starbucks."

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz agreed to testify after the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee threatened to vote on whether to subpoena him. Democrats, led by Senator Bernie Sanders, asked Schultz about his role in illegal union-busting, which was cited by the Committee, his refusal to show up to the bargaining table, and workers’ rights. Republican Senators defended Schultz.

According to the HELP Committee, the National Labor Relations Board has filed over 80 complaints against Starbucks for violating federal labor law and there have been over 500 unfair labor practice charges lodged against this company. These violations include the illegal firing of more than a dozen Starbucks workers for "the crime" of exercising their right to form a union and collectively bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions. Nearly 300 Starbucks coffee shops have unionized, despite an aggressive and illegal anti-union campaign waged by Starbucks under the leadership of Howard Schultz.

Schultz denies the allegations. Starbucks declined to join today's