Starbucks Fired 7 Union Organizers, But Their Store Still Voted Yes

MEMPHIS, TN — A vindicating day for employees at a Memphis Starbucks who, despite extensive union-busting efforts, voted successfully Tuesday to join the growing Starbucks Workers United Movement.

According to an update from Workers United, store employees voted 11-3 in favor of unionization. While the Memphis store is just one of 100+ stores that have now voted to join the union, the vote is particularly notable because their store had faced some of the toughest pushback from Starbucks corporate yet, including firing seven pro-union employees in an attempt to halt unionization. One store manager even reportedly quit after being asked by higher-ups to falsify complaints against union organizers.

Back on May 10, the National Labor Relations Board's New Orleans Region filed an injunction demanding the "Memphis 7" be reinstated, accusing the company of illegally firing the employees for exercising their right to form a union.

“Given Starbucks’ egregious conduct interfering with the federally protected rights of its employees, we are asking the Court to swiftly grant the injunction,” wrote Region 15 Regional Director Kathleen McKinney. “Without immediate interim relief from this Court, Starbucks could irreparably harm the campaign in Memphis, and send a chilling message to its employees across the country that they too will suffer the same fate as the terminated Memphis employees if they dare to exercise their right to engage in protected activities."

While the Memphis incident is one of the most egregious cases of union-busting, it is far from the only time Starbucks has been accused of trying to illegally stifle the growing union movement. The company faces dozens more complaints, with workers alleging that store management used coercive language to try and dissuade employees from unionizing, and illegally interrogated employees about union efforts. The National Labor Relations Board has also sued the company over its employee handbook, claiming it includes 19 labor rights violations and imposes "overly-broad and discriminatory rules" that illegally interfere with unionization efforts.

As of Tuesday's vote in Memphis, 124 Starbucks locations have voted to join the union, and nearly 300 stores have filed to unionize.