Over 150 Starbucks stores face possible strike over LGBTQ+ displays
Workers at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill went on strike Thursday night, kicking off walkouts at more than 150 stores in the U.S. throughout the next week, the union, Starbucks Workers United, said Friday.
In a strike letter signed by Reserve Roastery workers, the union said the walkout was “taking collective action in response to the company’s unlawful decision to unilaterally alter or terminate Pride decoration policies without negotiating with our union.”
Starbucks spokesperson Andrew Trull said the company has not changed its Pride decoration policies and added the union is spreading misinformation about Starbucks policies, negotiation efforts and benefits. He said it’s unlikely all 150 stores will strike at the same time.
As the walkouts have started, Starbucks “operators have reported limited effects to the business as a result of protest activities — with less than 10 stores currently impacted (one of those being the Seattle Roastery),” Trull said.
The walkout comes during Pride month as Seattle-based Starbucks and its workforce are at odds. Workers claim Starbucks managers told them to take down LGBTQ+ decorations in stores, and the union has alleged that Starbucks’ sponsorship of Seattle Pride publication led to a vetoed Starbucks Workers United ad. Pride’s executive director disputes the claim.
In previous years, workers were encouraged to put up Pride decorations, according to the union. “Starbucks claims to be a true ally, but they refuse to stand up for workers, especially during a time when LGBTQIA+ people are under attack,” the union said in a statement earlier this month.
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Trull said local store leaders are empowered to decide how a store looks. At a Starbucks location in Bellingham at 1185 East Sunset Dr., there were pride flags displayed by the entrance door and store windows. The store is not unionized.
Some companies have faced backlash this month amid an anti-LGBTQ+ legislation push in some parts of the country. Retail giant Target pulled Pride items off the shelves because of anti-LGBTQ+ customers attacking workers. Bud Light faced boycotts over its campaign featuring Dylan Mulvaney, a social media influencer who is a transgender woman.
Last month, Starbucks Workers United claimed an ad it had submitted to the Seattle Pride publication was vetoed because Starbucks is a sponsor. Seattle Pride Executive Director Noah Wagoner said in an interview the ad was sent after the deadline, was not shared with Starbucks and that he had offered the union a space in the digital version of the publication.
Service Employees International Union representative Marissa Barrow said in an email that Seattle Pride offered the digital edition space because workers spoke up despite pressure because of Starbucks’ sponsorship.
The National Labor Relations Board decided in November that Starbucks broke labor law at the Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill by refusing to negotiate with the union. On Tuesday, the board ruled that Starbucks also violated the law at a now-closed store on Broadway on Capitol Hill by telling an employee they couldn’t testify at an NLRB hearing without securing shifts and by prohibiting union activities during company-paid breaks. Trull said Starbucks was considering alternatives for legal review.
The NLRB has certified 301 unionized Starbucks stores out of 9,000 company-owned locations in the U.S. As of last month, the NLRB had 552 open or settled unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks, its subsidiary Siren Retail and law firm Littler Mendelson.
Source: The Seattle Times
