Claiming misconduct, Starbucks seeks union election pause

STORY: Starbucks has accused the National Labor Relations Board of manipulating employee elections to unionize - and has requested those elections be suspended pending the outcome of an investigation.

Starbucks said NLRB agents allegedly helped the union group Workers United win elections by manipulating the voting process and then collaborating to cover up the behavior.

That’s according to a letter Starbucks sent to, among others, NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.

A spokesperson for the NLRB said they have well established processes for challenging elections, and will “carefully and objectively consider any challenges raised.”

Workers United called the letter Starbucks’ “latest attempt to manipulate the legal process for their own means and prevent workers from exercising their fundamental right to organize.”

A year ago, there were no unionized corporate-owned Starbucks locations in the U.S.

Now, employees at 216 cafes have voted to join the union. Workers at 46 locations have voted against unionizing.

The allegations come amid a growing unionization drive among U.S. retailers, including Amazon, Chipotle, Lululemon Athletica and Trader Joe's.

Starbucks said it learned of the alleged misconduct from a whistleblower who is a long-time NLRB employee, and that it took place during a Kansas City, Kansas union election, but is believed to have happened in other regions as well.

The company is asking for all pending and future elections to be conducted manually with in-person voting, and observers from both sides present.