Starbucks closed more than 20 stores in union-busting move, feds say. What to know
Starbucks is accused of unlawfully closing nearly two dozen stores in what federal labor regulators described as union-busting activity.
The shuttered locations — 23 in all — could be forced to reopen, however, following a complaint by the National Labor Relations Board.
In the Dec. 13 filing, a regional director with the board’s Seattle office accused the coffee giant of closing the stores “because its employees engaged in union activities,” or to keep them from doing so, The New York Times reported.
Affected locations included stores in Kansas City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Portland, Maine, according to local reports. At least eight of the 23 stores had unionized before they were closed, federal regulators said.
Kansas City Starbucks closed to squash union, feds say. It could be forced to reopen
Starbucks closed locations without warning and failed to give Starbucks Workers United, the union representing more than 9,000 Starbucks partners, a chance to negotiate ahead of the changes, according to the NLRB complaint.
Employees were also reportedly barred from “borrowing” shifts at other stores at the time, regulators said.
“This complaint is the latest confirmation of Starbucks’ determination to illegally oppose workers’ organizing,” Mari Cosgrove, a Seattle Starbucks employee and Starbucks Workers United member, said in a statement.
“If Starbucks is sincere in its overtures in recent days to forge a different relationship with its partners, this is exactly the kind of illegal behavior it needs to stop,” Cosgrove said, citing a “litany of complaints” against the coffee company.
Aside from pushing for the stores’ “immediate” reopening, regulators have called on Starbucks to bargain with the eight unionized stores, rehire affected employees, and compensate them for lost wages during the closures, among other remedies.
‘Standard course of business’
Starbucks has pushed back against the board’s accusations and said store closures are part of a routine process to maintain the company’s store portfolio.
“Each year as a standard course of business, we evaluate the store portfolio to determine where we can best meet our community and customers’ needs,” Sara Trilling, executive vice president and president of Starbucks North America, told McClatchy News in a statement.
“This includes opening new locations, identifying stores in need of investment or renovation, exploring locations where an alternative format is needed and, in some instances, re-evaluating our footprint,” Trilling said.
The case will go before an NLRB administrative law judge on Aug. 20 if the two parties cannot reach an agreement, the board said. The judge would then issue a ruling.
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