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Federal authorities accused Starbucks on Wednesday of illegally closing 23 stores to prevent coordinated action and try to force the company to reopen.
A complaint filed by the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board contended that Starbucks closed stores because its employees were participating in union activities or preventing employees from done. At least seven of the 23 stores were confirmed to have been merged.
The agency’s action is the latest in a series of accusations by federal officials that Starbucks has violated the law during the two-year struggle for workers.
The case is scheduled to go to administrative court next summer unless Starbucks makes an appointment sooner. In addition to asking the judge to reopen the stores, the complaint also wants workers to be compensated for lost income or benefits, among others. money they spent because of the foreclosure.
“This complaint is the latest evidence of Starbucks’ determination to oppose illegal labor unionization,” said Mari Cosgrove, a Starbucks employee, in a statement issued by a spokesman for the union, Workers United.
A Starbucks spokesperson said, “Every year as a normal course of business, we review the retailer” and often open, close or change stores. The company said it opened hundreds of new stores last year and closed more than 100, which is about 3 percent combined.
The union campaign began in 2021 in the Buffalo, NY, area, where two stores merged in December, before spreading across the country. More than 350 of the company’s approximately 9,300 commercial locations have been combined.
More than 100 complaints have been filed by the Labor Committee that include hundreds of allegations of illegal behavior by Starbucks, including threats or retaliation. to workers involved in union activity and failure to bargain in good faith. Management has ruled against the company more than 30 times, although the company has appealed those decisions to the full labor committee in Washington. Judges have dismissed at least five complaints.
None of the unionized stores have negotiated a labor contract with the company, and trade has largely stopped. Last week, Starbucks wrote to Workers United that it wants to restart negotiations.
According to Wednesday’s complaint, Starbucks management announced the closing of 16 stores by July 2022, and then announced more closings in the next few months.
An administrative judge was previously controlled Starbucks illegally closed a joint store in Ithaca, NY, and ordered workers to back wages, but the company has appealed that decision.
The new complaint was filed the same day Starbucks issued a non-confidential statement of an external review of whether its practices are consistent with its commitment to the rights of employees. The company’s shareholders voted in favor of the review in a temporary election that showed the results in March.
The report’s author, Thomas M. Mackall, a former administrative-lawyer and employee at the food and facilities management company Sodexo, wrote that he “found no evidence of an ‘anti-union playbook’ or instructions or training about. way to break the laws of America.”
But concluded by Mr. Mackall said that the Starbucks officials involved in the response to the union campaign did not seem to understand the company’s approach. Statement of Human Rights in the World which may inhibit their response. The bill of rights commits Starbucks to respecting workers’ freedom to engage in collective bargaining.
Said Mr. Mackall the manager of “promises and threats that are against the law” and “accusations of discrimination or retaliatory discipline” are areas that Starbucks can improve.
In a letter linked to the publication of the report, the chairman of the company’s board of directors and an independent director said the assessment clearly states that “Starbucks has no intention of leaving the platform the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.” At the same time, the letter added, “there are things the company can, and should, do to improve its commitments and compliance with these important issues.”