Starbucks has laid off more than 85 workers in the last few months who were heavily involved in union organizing efforts at the giant coffee chain, according to worker group Starbucks Workers United.
Employees have sued numerous unfair labor practices over their terminations, and a federal judge recently ordered the reinstatement of seven workers fired in February in Memphis, Tennessee.
The National Labor Relations Commission has issued 21 formal complaints against Starbucks. This includes 81 accusations and 548 allegations of labor law violations currently under investigation.
Starbucks accused the NLRB of supporting the union movement and called for a temporary suspension of union elections. Since December, more than 220 stores have won union elections, and the company has vehemently opposed unionization efforts.
starbucks worker united called Starbucks management to testify before Congress about the company’s response to the union campaign.
Meanwhile, dismissed workers describe their treatment. Jaysin Saxton, who worked at Starbucks in Augusta, Georgia for more than three years, was fired on August 16th. His store he began organizing in January, officially announced in March, and won a landslide union election at the end of April.
After a new manager was brought into the store a few months ago, Saxton said, employees began to be subject to intense scrutiny and disciplinary action.
“At that point, everything went downhill. “They are watching us.
In July, Saxton led a march to his boss, presenting him with a list of demands from workers, and management protested. rice field.
“I told the district manager that I was being treated as a stereotypical angry black man,” said the manager for trying to address the issues and complaints employees were experiencing at the store. Describing how he was treated, Saxton said.
About a month later, Saxton received a call from his manager saying he would be fired, but he said he had received no reports or reprimands from the protests prior to the call. He quickly filed papers and filed an unfair labor practices accusation in connection with his dismissal.
Starbucks workers have gone on strike more than 80 times over allegations of unfair labor practices, firing union leaders, withholding profits from union affiliated stores, and delaying initial contract negotiations. Several GoFundMe campaigns have been created to create a strike fund to help workers inside and to financially support union leaders facing layoffs.
Jocelyn Cukilanki, 28, was laid off in July after seven years as a shift supervisor at Starbucks in Great Neck Plaza, New York. She said she was kicked out by her management after her own store lost by one vote in her union election in May.
“I was informed within five minutes that I was late,” said Chuqillanqui. “They tried to slander me by implying that I was paid by the union.”
Her colleagues and community supporters recently held a rally outside a Starbucks store to support her and demand her reinstatement. dozens of supporters chant “Rehire Jocelyn”. The union intends to file an unfair labor practice complaint regarding her dismissal.
Starbucks denies all allegations of retaliation. A spokesperson said in an email: A partner’s interest in the union does not exempt them from the standards we have always held. “