Starbucks illegally fired seven activists

Bloomberg

The union organizing Starbucks Corp. employees filed a federal complaint accusing it of illegally firing activist employees, marking a new and more contentious chapter in the efforts to expand labor representation among the company’s workers.
In a filing with the National Labor Relations Board, the union, Workers United, said Starbucks violated federal law by firing seven employees at a Memphis store in retaliation for activism. The union, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, called for a federal court injunction “to prevent irreparable destruction of employee rights” resulting from the firings.
The Memphis location is one of dozens where workers have petitioned to unionize in the weeks since the union’s landmark victory at a New York store. On a GoFundMe page set up to support the fired workers, the union said the company is engaged in union busting and terminated “virtually our entire union leadership” at the store after workers talked to the media about their organizing.
Starbucks spokesperson Reggie Borges said the employees were not punished for their involvement with the union or for talking to the media, but rather because they violated numerous safety rules by letting off-duty staff and non-employees including reporters into their store when it was closed. They also let non-employees access employee-only areas of the store, opened a safe, and left the front door unlocked, he said.
Claims filed with the labor board are investigated by regional officials. If they find merit in allegations and can’t reach settlement, they issue complaints which are considered by agency judges. The agency’s prosecutors can also seek federal court injunctions to more quickly reinstate fired activists — a tactic that its Joe Biden-appointed general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, has said she plans to deploy “aggressively” where needed.
The labor board lacks authority to impose punitive damages for violations of the law, and disputes over firings can drag on for years — which can also effectively derail organizing efforts. A 2019 study of claims filed with the labor board found that that workers are allegedly fired illegally in 20% to 30% of union election campaigns.