Per Bloomberg

The US labor board has officially ruled that Starbucks threatened pro-union employees "illegally." Starbucks received a "cease and desist" order from the National Labor Relations Board to stop staff from voicing out their concerns.

Per the ruling, Starbucks "illegally threatened, interrogated, and terminated pro-union employees in Philadelphia." This led to the "cease and desist" order, which was followed by the company being placed under surveillance regarding actions towards staff that supported these labor groups.

Starbucks decided to give their response, saying they did not agree with the decision and that the claims against them were "categorically false." The decision also resulted in two terminated activists receiving back pay.

Starbucks: “We disagree with the decision and are considering all options to obtain a full legal review of the matter.”

The disputes that were the subject of the ruling happened in 2019 and involved workplace activism. Three Democratic National Labor Relations Board members issued the cease and desist order to the company.

Per the National Law Review, the NLRB limits what employers can do when it comes to its employees unionizing and voicing their concerns.

"When it comes to union organizing, Section 8(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) vests employers with broad free speech rights to voice their opinions on unions to their workforces."

This came shortly after Starbucks decided to shut down the first store to ever unionize in Seattle. Over 2,000 workers from 112 locations across the United States joined in the first-ever nationwide strike.

The company owns around 9,000 locations with over 70,000 staff around the United States alone. The company spokesperson cited "safety and security incidents" as why it decided to close down the first store in Seattle to unionize with its CEO explaining further.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz noted that this was just the beginning and that more stores would follow.

See flow at unusualwhales.com/flow.

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Resources:

Bloomberg

The National Law Review