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Parades with Starbucks pass through the historic intersection of Hollywood and Highland during the annual Pride parade in Los Angeles, June 12, 2022.
David McNew | Getty Images
Starbucks The United Workers Organization said Tuesday that dozens of US stores affiliated with the coffee chain are not allowing employees to decorate for Pride Month.
Starbucks said in a statement to CNBC that the company has consistently supported the LGBTQ+ community and has not changed its policies for store decorations.
“There has been no policy change on this matter, and we continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their communities including American Pride Month in June,” the company said.
A Starbucks spokesperson told CNBC that the company’s security and safety manual provides extensive guidance to stores about decorations. However, local store leaders and employees are free to make their own decorating choices within those guidelines.
The union’s allegation comes as the LGBTQ+ community faces mounting attacks, ranging from protests to legislation to physical violence. Republican state lawmakers have targeted Medicare for transgender people and drag queen shows. Nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this session, according to ACLU tally. At the same time, conservative activists have sparked a backlash in recent months against companies that have shown support for the LGBTQ+ community, including Anheuser-Busch InBevAnd kohl and the north face.
Starbucks has long had a reputation as a progressive company, buoyed by its history of supporting its LGBTQ+ workers, including transgender baristas. Its health benefits were extended to same-sex partnerships before the United States legalized same-sex marriage in 2015. Workers previously received buttons and clothing to celebrate LGBTQ rights. Starbucks insurance has covered sex reassignment surgery since 2013.
But the Starbucks labor union said baristas in at least 22 states have reported cases in which district and store managers told them they couldn’t decorate for Pride Month or where store representatives lowered Pride flags.
The union said some Massachusetts workers were told there weren’t enough hours to schedule partners to decorate. Managers tell employees in Maryland that some people don’t feel like they have an “umbrella of pride,” according to the worker group.
In Oklahoma, workers were told that the restrictions on decking were out of concern for safety after the recent attacks in Goal stores, Union said. in late may, Goal pulled some of its Pride products, citing threats to its employees. Some retailer locations in the south have also moved Pride collections to less visible areas on the ground. Washington Post Target stores were reportedly evacuated in at least five states this weekend after bomb threats.
Starbucks workers in Oklahoma were also prohibited from hanging Pride flags in store windows. Starbucks policy prohibits blocking windows to ensure that the barista gets a clear view of the area outside the stores.
The clash over Pride decorations also comes as Starbucks continues to battle its baristas over unions. More than 300 company-owned locations have voted to unionize, but no store has signed a collective bargaining agreement with Starbucks yet.
The union accused Starbucks of delaying negotiations, which the company denies. Baristas are trying to use public pressure to bring the coffee giant to the negotiating table.
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