NEWS & ANALYSIS

By Beverly Banks

Starbucks violated federal labor law by barring a worker from recording a disciplinary meeting and later terminating that pro-union employee from a store near St. Louis, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Thursday, calling for the coffee chain to reinstate the barista and make them whole.

By Rachel Riley

The Ninth Circuit said Wednesday that Starbucks must recognize its Seattle roastery workers' April 2022 vote to unionize, overruling the coffee giant's contention that ballots should have been cast in person and concluding a National Labor Relations Board manager had discretion to call the mail-in election because of COVID-19 case counts at the time.

By Braden Campbell

The U.S. Supreme Court appears likely to hold that the courts' traditional factors apply when the National Labor Relations Board pursues injunctions, though it's unclear from Tuesday's argument how closely it will direct courts to examine a key factor: the strength of the board's case.

By Emily Brill

Starbucks violated federal labor law when it told workers at a Hawaii cafe that they could miss out on a raise and lose the ability to pick up shifts at other stores if they unionized, the National Labor Relations Board held Wednesday, upholding an agency judge's ruling.

By Beverly Banks

Workers United and former Starbucks employees objected to a federal judge's order to comply with a subpoena of communications about workers' sentiments toward the union at a Long Island, New York, store, arguing the company's information bids run counter to workers' confidentiality and privacy rights.

By Beverly Banks

Starbucks told the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday that siding with the National Labor Relations Board's arguments about deference to the agency for federal court injunction requests would "open the floodgates" in other ways for deference to federal agencies.

By Rachel Riley

Starbucks denied Friday that complying with federal labor law was "mission critical" to its business as it urged a Washington state judge to dismiss a shareholder suit accusing company leaders of union busting, which they say tanked Starbucks' reputation.

By Emily Brill

A group of labor law professors defended the National Labor Relations Board's ability to dodge certain injunction requirements placed on private parties in a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, recommending the justices side with the agency over Starbucks in a dispute about how the NLRB obtains injunctions.

By Beverly Banks

Workers United and a fired Starbucks employee must comply with subpoenas seeking information about workers' sentiments toward the union at a Long Island cafe following the worker's termination, a New York magistrate judge ruled, finding no confidentiality concerns.

By Emily Brill

A split D.C. Circuit panel on Thursday enforced a National Labor Relations Board order finding Starbucks violated federal labor law by barring a worker from passing out union pins, marking the first time a federal appeals court has weighed in on a board decision against the coffee giant.

By Beverly Banks

Starbucks violated federal labor law by constructively discharging a former barista in Buffalo, New York, who is now a union spokesperson, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, while dismissing other unfair labor practice allegations against the coffee chain involving cut hours and failure to negotiate over discipline.

By Beverly Banks

The National Labor Relations Board told the U.S. Supreme Court that Starbucks is ignoring the history of how courts use injunction standards under federal labor law, explaining to the justices that a two-part test doesn't lead to more favorable outcomes for the agency.

By Beverly Banks

A Washington federal court approved a joint request from Starbucks and the National Labor Relations Board to dismiss an injunction case related to claims that the coffee chain tried to illegally quell organizing efforts with the consolidation of three Seattle stores.

By Beverly Banks

Starbucks unlawfully took down union material posted at a cafe in Maine and disciplined a worker who wrote "stop union busting" on a whiteboard, a National Labor Relations Board judge found while dismissing other allegations that the company violated federal labor law.

By Braden Campbell

Starbucks and Workers United appear poised to begin bargaining in earnest after reaching a detente more than two years after the acrimonious organizing campaign kicked off, but the end of Starbucks' resistance to negotiating doesn't mean deals will follow soon.

By Braden Campbell

The National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday upheld a ruling that a Los Angeles Starbucks threatened to withhold raises and interrogated a worker amid a union drive, but declined to order several heightened remedies, including a broad cease-and-desist order.

By Beverly Banks

Starbucks violated federal labor law by disciplining a pro-union worker at an Alabama store for a comment that was a "joke amongst [LGBTQ] friends," a National Labor Relations Board judge determined, ordering the coffee chain to reinstate the employee who was later fired.

By Braden Campbell

Starbucks' dress code is not illegal on its face to the extent that it bars workers from wearing union T-shirts, but the company violated federal labor law by more strictly enforcing its piercing limits after workers at a Tallahassee, Florida, store struck, a National Labor Relations Board judge said Thursday.

By Braden Campbell

Starbucks violated federal labor law by firing a union backer for clocking out after an emotional exchange with her boss but not by writing another supporter up over his testy attitude toward a visiting manager, a National Labor Relations Board judge said.

By Beverly Banks

Starbucks and Workers United announced Tuesday that they have agreed to move the needle on talks for a "foundational framework" related to collective bargaining and resolving litigation, saying both sides discussed a "constructive path forward" amid mediation related to a federal trademarks case.