BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) - — The next step in the saga of the Starbucks Workers United fight against the coffee conglomerate to unionize is legal litigation.
"We have been working tirelessly, and we will continue to fight for what we want and what is right," said James Skretta, a representative of the union group and employee of the Sheridan Drive Starbucks.
The union group has filed 23 different charges to the National Labor Relations Board, including wrongful termination, unapproved surveillance, and other accusations.
According to official documents provided to 7 News by the Starbucks Workers United, the accusations are as follows:
- On about September 2, 2021, by soliciting grievances from employees and promising to remedy them;
- On about September 2, 2021, by threatening that all Buffalo-area stores could be shut down in response to the union organizing campaign;
- On about September 3, 2021, by soliciting grievances from employees and promising to remedy them;
- Beginning in about September 2021 and continuing to present, by stationing additional “support” managers at all Buffalo-area stores, by having high-ranking Starbucks officials make unprecedented and repeated visits to each store in the Buffalo area, thereby engaging in surveillance and creating the impression of surveillance;
- Since about September 2021 and continuing to present, by holding mandatory or effectively mandatory antiunion meetings;
- Since about September 2021 and continuing to present, by threatening employees with the loss of benefits if they chose to unionize;
- Since about September 2021 and continuing to present, by soliciting grievances from employees and promising to remedy them;
- On about September 9, 2021, by removing both Buffalo-area district managers, thereby remedying grievances solicited by the Employer regarding those managers, and replacing them with new out-of-town district managers to grant a benefit in response to Union campaign;
- Beginning in about September 2021 and continuing to present, by repurposing its emergency text message service to distribute antiunion campaign material to employees;
- Beginning in about September 2021 and continuing to present, by mailing and emailing antiunion campaign material to employees;
- On about September 13, 2021, by removing the ability of store managers to hire employees for their stores;
- Beginning in about September 2021 and continuing to present, hiring additional employees both as a grant of benefit and to dilute union support in the Buffalo area;
- Beginning in about September 2021 and continuing to present, making facilities improvements in all Buffalo-area stores as a grant of benefit;
- On about November 6, 2021, by expressing that union representation was futile and by implicitly threatening the loss of benefits if employees unionized; and
- On about November 6, 2021, by making promises of benefits to employees. In the past six months, the above-named Employer has engaged in conduct toward employees attempting to discourage union activity, including the following:
- Beginning in about September 2021 and continuing to about November 2021, the Employer changed its training policy in response to the union organizing effort by requiring that all newly hired employees in the Buffalo area were trained at a single facility;
- Beginning in about September 2021 and continuing to present, the Employer has permanently and indefinitely closed Buffalo-area stores to threaten and intimidate employees;
- Beginning in about September 2021 and continuing to present, by repeatedly closing stores early to hold antiunion meetings, thereby depriving employees of compensation that would have been earned had the stores remained open;
- Since about September 2021 and continuing to present, constructively discharging employees by reducing available work hours.
- Beginning in about November 2021 and continuing to present, by further changed its training policy in response to the union organizing effort by requiring that all newly hired employees be trained at one of three “training stores” in the Buffalo area.
- On about November 6, 2021, by closing its stores in the Buffalo market early, thereby depriving employees of the wages and tips they would have otherwise earned.
- On about November 6, 2021, by requiring employees to pay for parking at a company- sponsored event; and
- Beginning in about November 2021 and continuing to present, the Employer has more strictly enforced its dress code and time & attendance requirements in order to discourage union activity.
"We find the actions of Starbucks disgusting and morally repugnant. We will continue to pursue this litigation and see that the accusations hold merit," said Ian Hayes, one of a few attorneys for Starbucks Workers United.
In response, Starbucks has issued a statement regarding the continued unionization efforts:
"From the beginning, we’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed. Starbucks success—past, present, and future—is built on how we partner together, always with Our Mission and Values at our core. The vote outcomes will not change our shared purpose or how we will show up for each other… We will keep listening, we will keep connecting and we will keep being in service of one another because that’s what we’ve always done and what it means to be partner.” - Starbucks
If you aren't familiar with the unionization efforts pioneered in Western New York, here's a timeline:
- The Elmwood Ave. Starbucks voted 18-9 to unionize on December 9th. They began the movement based upon a desire for higher wages, better working conditions, hours, and overall treatment.
Victory at Elmwood, the first unionized Starbucks store in the United States—history made!!!
— SBWorkersUnited (@SBWorkersUnited) December 9, 2021
- The Genessee St. location voted 15-9 to unionize, but has 7 challenged votes. Those votes were later changed to "yes" votes, leading to the stores unionization.
- The Hamburg location on Camp Rd. voted "no" to unionizing.
- Locations at Walden Ave., Sheridan Dr., and Transit Rd., have been put on pause.
- According to Starbucks, the reasoning behind the pause is:
"Regarding our Request for Review in Buffalo, our position since the beginning has been that all partners in a market or district deserve the right to vote. Our districts operate as cohesive units and we believe all of our partners who are impacted deserve the right to make their voice heard. In January, we asked the NLRB to review its decision on the voting unit, as the decision impacts all partners in the district. We made this request in a timely manner and had every expectation that this outstanding decision would be made before the count. We will continue to respect the NLRB’s process and our partners’ voices." - Starbucks
- According to Starbucks, the reasoning behind the pause is:
The allegations will now head to the National Labor Relations Board where they will pend review. There is no time limit on a decision, or a return-from-pause vote.
