Starbucks denies ban on Pride decor reported by employees at 2 Madison stores and the national union
MADISON – Starbucks officials on Tuesday denied allegations they were banning Pride decorations inside its stores after an employee union and workers at two downtown Madison Starbucks cafes reported company representatives asked employees to remove decor celebrating gay pride.
Starbucks Workers United, a national organization representing union members at some Starbucks cafes, claimed Tuesday that corporate and district management asked multiple locations to remove all Pride-related decor from United States stores over the past two weeks.
“In union stores, where Starbucks claims they are unable to make 'unilateral changes' without bargaining, the company took down Pride decorations and flags anyway, ignoring their own anti-union talking point,” the union tweeted.
Starbucks spokesman Andrew Trull denied the claims Tuesday in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and said the coffee giant is “deeply concerned by false information that is being spread.”
“We unwaveringly support the LGBTQIA2+ community,” Trull said. “There has been no change to any policy on this matter and we continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their communities including for U.S. Pride month in June.”
Employees at two downtown Madison locations — a cafe on Capitol Square and a cafe on State Street — confirmed to the Journal Sentinel that district and regional managers asked them to remove all Pride decorations from their stores.
Brittany Waldinger, a shift supervisor who has worked at the Capitol Square location for nearly two years, said management asked them to remove a Pride poster that had been hung in the shop for nearly a year. Both locations reported they can continue selling Starbucks-branded Pride merchandise.
“Corporate told our store we can’t have it up anymore because they want all the stores to have the same decorations and vibes throughout,” Brittany said. “It was just a small poster. It looked nice in the cafe.”
The request came on the first day of June, Waldinger said — a month widely recognized as LGBTQ+ Pride month across the nation. No company-sponsored Pride decorations were offered as a replacement, Waldinger said.
“We have a lot of LGBTQ partners that work here. It’s sad for all of us, and the community too,” Waldinger said. “I wish they would at least give us some kind of posters to put up that are Pride-related so all the cafes can have it.”
Starbucks has some guidelines dictating where decorations can be placed in stores — for example, no decorations can be placed in windows because it may obstruct lines of sight, according to Trull. But Waldinger said the poster removed from the Capitol Square location was on a back wall, not a window.
Local leadership has "some flexibility" to make decisions on decor policy, and the Capitol Square store may be an "exception versus the norm," Trull continued. However, he stressed the company has no blanket policy banning Pride decor and that locations across the country continue to post and share their in-store Pride decorations.
Trull said he would reach out to local management for more information.
“I don’t understand why people get upset about it. It’s not a big deal,” Waldinger said. “It’s showing support for the community, and I think it’s a good thing, a happy thing. People should be celebrated. It’s sad and upsetting that we can’t put these things up and show our support.”
The alleged moves to take down Pride decor angered Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, who is gay.
"Who do you think buys $5 coffee?" Pocan wrote. "Knuckle-draggers bingeing on cheap or free coffee OR people who support equality? Between this and your union-busting, good luck with your customer base. You don’t deserve us."
The reports from Starbucks cafes come amid rising nationwide scrutiny and threats toward LGBTQ+ people, particularly against trans people.
National brands including Bud Light and Target dealing with backlash
National brands like Bud Light and Target — a retailer that has maintained highly visible Pride displays in its stores for a decade — have received sharp backlash for advertising LGBTQ-focused products and marketing with LGBTQ+ influencers.
More: Transgender influencer, TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney went ax-throwing at Milwaukee's NorthSouth Club
Target pulled some LGBTQ+ merchandise from stores last week after the company claimed it received threats that affected team members' sense of safety.
Nationwide, at least 75 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community have been signed into law in 2023, according to LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, prompting the group to issue a first-ever “state of emergency” for LGBTQ+ Americans last week.
“The multiplying threats facing millions in our community are not just perceived — they are real, tangible and dangerous,” the group said in a release. “In many cases, they are resulting in violence against LGBTQ+ people, forcing families to uproot their lives and flee their homes in search of safer states.”
While Wisconsin has not passed such a bill in 2023, Republicans on the Legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules voted earlier this year to reauthorize “conversion therapy” in the state.
The practice, wherein counselors tell gay patients to change their sexual orientation, is widely disregarded by medical professionals.
“If Starbucks was a true ally, they would stand up for us, especially during a time when LGBTQ+ people are under attack,” Starbucks Workers United tweeted Tuesday. “A company that cares wouldn’t turn their back on the LGBTQ+ community to protect their already astronomically high profits.”
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Starbucks denies ban on Pride decor reported at 2 Madison stores
