U.S. Court Orders Starbucks To Reinstate 7 Fired Workers

A US judge ordered Starbucks Corp. to reinstate seven employees at a Memphis, Tennessee cafe on Thursday (Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Manila) who were allegedly fired for supporting a union organizing campaign, as the company seeks to halt pending nationwide union elections, Daniel Wiessner reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: The US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) provided enough evidence that the firings earlier this year were motivated by anti-union animus.

US District Judge Sheryl Lipman in Memphis said the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had provided enough evidence that the firings earlier this year were motivated by anti-union animus. Lipman granted the order pending the outcome of an administrative case before the board.

The Memphis store is one of nearly 220 Starbucks cafes in the US to unionize over the last year. Workers at 46 locations have voted against unionizing, and dozens of other elections are pending.

Starbucks said in a statement on Thursday it disagreed with the ruling and planned to appeal.

The company said the workers were fired for violating company safety policies and that it respected the unionization process.

NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo called the decision "a crucial step in ensuring that these workers, and all Starbucks workers, can freely exercise their right to join together to improve their working conditions and form a union."

The NLRB in May made the rare move of seeking an order in federal court in the Memphis case, as claims that the workers were unlawfully fired play out before an administrative judge.

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