Welcome to Way Off Wall Street, a column dedicated to providing Main Street opinions on topics of interest to investors. Each installment highlights the views of Americans who are far removed from the canyons of Wall Street -- and who often see things more clearly as a result.

Now that the dust has settled, it's nice to see that the factory sit-in at Republic Doors and Windows in Chicago was successfully resolved. The fact that the tumultuous event was dealt with in such a solid and peaceful manner speaks well of modern organized labor. It cannot be denied that the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America union, played a large part in bringing an acceptable resolution to the matter. This raises an important question: can and should America's labor unions find ways to be more deeply engaged in the current attempts to fix what is wrong with our nation's economy? It seems to me, in this time of great economic turmoil, that America's labor unions have stayed conspicuously on the sidelines.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2007 the number of Americans belonging to labor unions totaled approximately 15.7 million. I expect that for 2008 that total has declined a bit, but not much. This means labor unions watch over about 12% of our nation's hourly and salaried workers. Those aren't numbers to be taken lightly. The question is, how much of that union clout exists simply to compel corporate America to conform to it's whims, and how much of it is dedicated to particularly benefiting the overall good of the labor force without deference to what form that good might take? Labor unions exist, in essence, to protect laborers from oppression and exploitation. What is a union's part when that oppression is brought on by the larger global economy, and that exploitation is perpetrated by governments, rather than by a particular employer?

Starbucks Corp.'s (NASDAQ: SBUX) reputation as one of the good guys of corporate America may be in jeopardy. The National Labor Relations Board has accused the coffee company of illegal anti-union activity at a store in Michigan, the second such charge it has received in the past month. The company is also on trial in New York on charges of similar union-busting efforts involving the International Workers of the World.

Business Week takes a look at the labor woes circling around Starbucks, and even makes a comparison to Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), America's bad boy of labor relations.

And that may be the most damaging thing to come out of this. Starbucks' wild popularity is as much a function of its atmosphere and reputation as it is a function of the quality of its products. Will people want to patronize a store when the newspapers sold there are reporting on labor violations?

Wal-Mart's sales may be suffering from its reputation but, based on the demographic Starbucks appeals to, I would expect that this publicity could be far more damaging.

Starbucks shareholders will want to monitor these stories closely. While the legal costs to the company may not be material, the intangible damage could be very material.