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Starbucks On Monday, the union that represents baristas at hundreds of stores fired charges, and the National Labor Relations Board filed charges over Starbucks United Workers’ allegations that dozens of its stores were not allowed to put up Pride Month decor.
The coffee giant’s charges come after some locations went on strike Friday in response to the allegations. The United Workers’ Organization said more than 150 stores have pledged to join the strikes across the country, representing nearly 3,500 workers. Starbucks has more than 9,000 company-owned coffee shops in the United States
The union alleged cases in at least 22 states in which managers told baristas they couldn’t decorate for Pride Month in June, or where Pride flags were lowered. The company said it has not changed its policies on trims.
In an NLRB complaint Monday related to the union allegations, Starbucks said that “the union and its customers have engaged in a smear campaign that includes deliberate misrepresentations of Starbucks associates.”
“The union’s abuses fueled and fueled tension and division in the workplace and sparked strikes and other business disruptions at Starbucks stores,” Starbucks said in the lawsuit. “The union’s unlawful campaign includes, but is not limited to, making intentional misrepresentations that include malicious and reckless false statements about Starbucks’ longstanding support of Pride Month and decorations in its stores. The union has knowingly and wrongly stated that Starbucks has banned all Pride decorations from its stores.”
In a second filing with the NLRB responding to the union’s portrayal of benefits for LGBTQ+ workers, the coffee giant said, “Starbucks continues to provide its partners with industry-leading gender affirmation sponsorship benefits. The union has knowingly and wrongly stated that Starbucks has canceled or changed benefit coverage for its LGBTQIA2+ partners.”
The union said it had filed its own indictment in response to allegations that shops were banned from decorating. She said some of the strikes were linked to these accusations, along with her allegations that Starbucks was dragging its feet in labor negotiations.
The United Workers’ Organization said it was confident Starbucks’ charges would be dismissed, describing it as a “public relations stunt designed to divert attention from Starbucks’ actions.”
“Every charge Starbucks has brought against our union has been dismissed by the NLRB for lack of merit…Watch what Starbucks does, not what it says,” the union said in a statement.
“While attacking the union that represents its workers, Starbucks has now changed its policies in response to the workers’ actions. If Starbucks really wanted to be an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, they would actually listen to their LGBTQ workers by coming to the bargaining table to negotiate in good faith.”
For its part, Starbucks asserts that the UW has responded to a quarter of the more than 450 negotiation sessions Starbucks has proposed to individual stores nationwide, to date, and said it is committed to making progress in negotiations toward the first contract.
Starbucks took additional steps Monday to inform employees that its policies regarding in-store decor have not changed. Managers are given safety and security guidelines and can make decisions within this framework.
Starbucks says it has encouraged and continues to encourage stores to celebrate their most famous heritage with partners, including Pride.
“I want to reiterate that none of our policies have changed as it relates to one-stop shop environments, our company culture, and the benefits we deliver to our partners. To further underscore this, we intend to issue clearer centralized guidance, and leverage resources such as the Period Planning Toolkit (PPK) ) and Siren’s, for in-store visual displays and decorations that will continue to represent inclusivity and our brand,” Sarah Trilling, executive vice president of North America for Starbucks, said in a letter to partners sent Monday. “No one can take away our legacy and our continuing commitment to being a place where we all belong.”
“Throughout our journey, we’ve heard from our partners that you want to be creative in how our stores are represented and that you see visual creativity in stores as part of our identity and culture,” said Trilling. “Similarly, we have also heard through our partner channels that there is a need for clarity and consistency on current guidance around visual displays and decorations.”
The clash over Pride decorations at Starbucks stores comes as states across the country have passed a series of laws targeting LGBT people — especially transgender Americans. Conservative consumers have boycotted trans people being listed or marketed by brands like Bud Light and Target.
The Starbucks union allegations suggest that the backlash has reached Starbucks, which has long had a reputation as a liberal bastion in corporate America and touts its health benefits to LGBTQ+ workers.
— CNBC’s Amelia Lucas contributed to this report.
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