Labor & Employment

Seattle – Starbucks Corp. is publicly calling for better race relations and public discussion of racial issues in the U.S. The company took out full-page advertisements promoting better race relations in the New York Times and USA Today earlier this week, and also is encouraging employees and customers to participate in the effort.

New Canaan, Conn. - Stadium Capital Management LLC and its affiliates have notified Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. that Stadium Capital will nominate three independent candidates to the board of directors of Big 5 at the 2015 annual meeting, expected to be held in June 2015. The nominees are Dominic P. DeMarco, a managing director and co-chief investment officer of SCM and an existing member of the board; Nicholas Donatiello Jr., a consumer, media and technology strategist; and Michael J.

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation (NRF) has formally asked the House to approve legislation that would overturn a National Labor Relations Board(NLRB) regulation allowing what it terms “ambush” union organizing elections, saying the rule infringes on employee and employer rights and is an attempt to favor union organizing. The Senate approved the legislation earlier this month by a vote of 53-46, and the House is expected to take it up later this week.

Plano, Texas – Deb Berman, chief marketing officer of The J.C. Penney Co. Inc., has left the company. In a statement, J.C. Penney said Berman left of her own accord.

Berman came to Penney from Kraft Foods Group in August 2013, as part of CEO Mike Ullman’s attempt to rebuild the retailer’s management team.  She served at Kraft as VP of marketing and engagement and also had prior experience working at advertising agencies.
 

JCPenney has lost its chief marketing officer at a time when the company has been trying to rebuild its brand image.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. – Dollar General Corp. plans to increase employee income by making more working hours available to them, as opposed to raising salaries. Seeing a need to improve its stores in the face of expanded competition from the merging Family Dollar Stores Inc. and Dollar Tree Inc., Dollar General hopes to keep shelves better stocked with more labor hours.

Mahwah, N.J. - Inserra Supermarkets has named Ron Onorato as its new president and COO. Onorato takes over the role as Steve Chalas retires from the Inserra after a more than 50-year career.

Onorato brings more than 35 years of industry experience to his new role at Inserra. Previously, Onorato served as the senior VP of operational initiatives of Ahold USA, and as the president of the New York division of Stop & Shop.

Inserra Supermarkets owns and operates 21 ShopRite supermarkets in New Jersey and New York.
 

Freeport, Maine – L.L. Bean Inc. intends to almost triple its store count by 2020. In an internal company memo distributed Wednesday, March 11, L.L. Bean told employees it will open four stores in 2015 and at least 100 by 2020.

Currently, L.L. Bean operates 26 stores and 10 outlets in the U.S. The retailer does not have any stores west of Colorado, but plans to open new stores in the Pacific Northwest. All new stores will be full-price locations. The memo was signed by CEO Chris McCormack, who plans to retire in 2016.

New York -- Kroger executive Kathleen “Katy” Barclay and former Coach executive Catherine “Kate” Buggeln have joined the board of directors of Five Below. The two executives bring different strengths to the rapidly growing teen and tween retailer’s board. Barclay has more than 35 years of experience in the human resources field and currently serves as senior VP of human resources at Kroger.

New York -- Ann Inc. on Friday posted a 94% drop in profit for the fourth quarter as incremental air freight costs in response to the West Coast ports dispute and lower margins resulting from increased promotional activity cut into sales. Its results, however, topped the Street forecasts. The company also announced efforts to deliver an additional $35 million in cost savings by 2016 through a new selling, general and administrative optimization program.