'This Is Psychological Warfare': Starbucks Workers Allege Anti-Union Firings
The National Labor Relations Board has reinstated 28 of the more than 200 pro-union workers fired since late 2021, The Guardian, Sept. 4, 2023. Ed. 🥤
Alicia Flores had worked at Starbucks in Portland, Oregon, for seven years until June, when she received a voicemail from a manager – filling in for her usual boss, who was taking a leave of absence – who informed her she was being fired. Flores is far from alone. She is one of dozens of workers who have filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the coffee giant, alleging they were fired in retaliation for union organizing.
Starbucks Workers United have claimed that more than 200 workers since December 2021 have been fired, and that several more have been pushed out in retaliation for union activity. According to the NLRB, decisions by board members, administrative law judges, federal district judges and federal appellate judges have ordered reinstatement of 28 Starbucks workers.
Last year, Flores got involved in a union campaign at her store. When Starbucks began enforcing work policies rigidly, she pushed back on management conduct that included removing union literature. Flores said she had never received any corrective action until that day, in December 2022. She even demoted herself to a barista to try to protect herself from further disciplinary action.
Flores said: “The documentation that I got fired … it’s literally 2 sentences. It just states that I was under investigation, and due to the outcome of the investigation – and then it states what it was – it states it was sexual harassment, saying I sent an explicit picture to a co-worker. Which makes it sound like I sent a naked picture of myself! But I sent a picture of Lana Del Rey’s album cover, so I got fired for that.”..“Starbucks has become the worst offender of federal labor law in modern US history, with 200+ violations and counting,” said Starbucks Workers United... - More,
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/04/starbucks-labor-union-retaliation-firings