Labor agency orders Starbucks to reopen 23 stores closed to impede union

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is compelling Starbucks to reopen 23 stores that were closed last year, allegedly to impede a growing nationwide union campaign.

The NLRB’s regional director issued a complaint on Wednesday, asserting that eight of the shuttered stores had already unionized before their closure.

This development marks the latest in a series of accusations against Starbucks for employing illegal labor tactics to discourage union activities.

Since 2021, workers at over 360 of Starbucks’ 9,300 U.S. stores have voted to join unions, resulting in more than 100 complaints at the NLRB citing various unlawful union-busting activities by the company.

The federal regulators’ complaint claims that Starbucks unlawfully closed the 23 stores in question with the intent to hinder or retaliate against union activities, particularly around July 2022, when a substantial number of closures occurred.

NLRB officials have directed Starbucks to reopen the stores and compensate workers for missed work and other costs incurred during the closures. The complaint is anticipated to be heard by an administrative law judge in the summer of the next year.

Starbucks responded to the complaint by stating that it routinely closed stores, including more than 100 last year.

Simultaneously, the company released a report, requested by shareholders, claiming it does not possess an “anti-union playbook.”

However, the report acknowledged shortcomings in the company’s response to workers’ organizing, attributing findings of federal labor law violations to a lack of preparedness in countering the union campaign.

Starbucks Workers United, a union affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), expressed skepticism about the report, emphasizing that the fight for the union remains crucial.

The union urged Starbucks to cease delaying negotiations with unionized stores if it genuinely seeks to demonstrate a positive relationship with its workers and the union.

This case is not the first time Starbucks has faced allegations of interfering with workers’ rights to unionize.

The NLRB has previously ruled against Starbucks in a similar case, ordering the reinstatement of workers with back pay after the illegal closure of a unionized store in Ithaca, NY.

The current complaint seeks to mandate Starbucks to reopen both unionized and non-unionized stores, compensating staff for lost earnings and benefits.

+The affected locations span multiple major U.S. cities, including Chicago, Portland, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Starbucks’ headquarters in Seattle.

The case is scheduled to go before a judge in the summer of 2024 unless a settlement is reached earlier. Starbucks has appealed the previous NLRB decision related to the Ithaca store closure.