Starbucks Committed ‘Egregious and Widespread’ Labor Violations Amid Recent Union Push: Judge

The ruling deals with Starbucks' response to growing unionization efforts at retail stores

A Starbucks sign hangs outside a Starbucks coffee shop in downtown Pittsburgh on June 26, 2019. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

A federal labor judge has ruled that Starbucks committed “egregious and widespread misconduct” in its response to labor union campaigns at the company’s stores in Buffalo, New York.

Michael A. Rosas, a judge for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), on March 1 ordered the coffeehouse giant to reinstate seven Buffalo-area workers who were fired for union activity, reopen a shuttered location in Buffalo, and bargain with the union at the Camp Road location, where the union election failed as a result of an “extensive and pervasive antiunion campaign” by the company, according to the 203-page decision (pdf).

The decision followed a hearing on the matter, which involved more than 30 charges filed by Starbucks Workers United—the labor union organizing Starbucks stores—with the NLRB alleging unfair labor practices by the company at 21 stores in Buffalo.

Additionally, Rosas ordered Starbucks to post a 13-page notice of its violations in all of its stores in the United States and on all the platforms it uses to communicate with its employees, including text messaging and email, for the duration of the national organizing campaign.

The notice is included as an appendix in the ruling.

The coffee chain must also give back pay and compensation to dozens of Buffalo-area workers who had their hours cut, had promotions withheld, or were denied transfer requests, according to the union.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz must be present at a reading of the company’s violations in its Buffalo-area stores and distribute a recording of the reading to all of the company’s U.S. employees.

‘Egregious and Widespread Misconduct’

Schultz recently declined a request from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, to testify about Starbucks’ compliance with federal labor laws.

In his decision, Rosas said that Starbucks had violated labor laws hundreds of times during a unionization campaign in Buffalo and shown “a general disregard for the employees’ fundamental rights.”

The judge also said he had found that Starbucks had threatened employees, surveilled them, and more strictly enforced dress codes and other policies, noting the company’s “egregious and widespread misconduct.”

Starbucks must also “cease and desist from infringing in any other manner on rights guaranteed employees,” Rosas said.

The Seattle-based company has denied violating labor laws and argued that the individuals in the case were fired for clear violations of the company’s policies that apply to all employees, and not because of union activities.

Starbucks Weighing Appeal

In a statement to The Epoch Times, a company spokesperson said Starbucks is looking into appealing the decision with the NLRB. Both parties in the case have until March 28 to do so.

“We maintain that actions taken at our Buffalo area stores were lawful and in alignment with established partner policies. The individuals cited in today’s decision were separated following clear violations of policies outlined in our Partner Guide—not related to, or in retaliation for, any concerted activities, as the decision contends,” the spokesperson added.

“Starbucks respects our partners’ rights to organize and engage in lawful union activities, has fully honored the process laid out by the NLRB and has worked to ensure that partners can trust the process is fair and their voice is heard. All partners receive training on our policies and are aware that failing to uphold them can result in corrective action up to and including separation.

“Starbucks has consistently encouraged partners to exercise their right to vote in union elections and contend that this decision—as well as others recently issued by the NLRB—could undermine an employer’s ability to share factual information and their perspective with employees so they can make informed, balanced decisions regarding union representation.”

Starbucks has nearly 9,000 stores across the United States. At least 289 of its stores have voted to unionize since the first corporate store voted to do so in Buffalo, New York, in December 2021.

Works are calling for better pay, improved training and staffing, and more say in how the stores are managed and how the technology for mobile orders is used, amid a surge in its use by customers.

The company says it already provides industry-leading benefits such as higher pay but that it respects workers’ right to protest.

Union leaders welcomed the ruling on March 1.

“This is truly a historic ruling,” Gary Bonadonna Jr., the regional head of Workers United, told The New York Times. “We will continue to fight and hold billionaires like Howard Schultz accountable for their actions. We will not rest until every Starbucks worker wins the right to organize.”

Starbucks officials didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.