Pro-union pins sit on a table during a party to watch Starbucks employee union elections in December in Buffalo, NY Starbucks union organizers say the company is closing a store in New York to retaliate.
Joshua Bessex / AP
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Joshua Bessex / AP
Pro-union pins sit on a table during a party to watch Starbucks employee union elections in December in Buffalo, NY Starbucks union organizers say the company is closing a store in New York to retaliate.
Joshua Bessex / AP
Starbucks is closing a store in Ithaca, NY, what Starbucks union organizers are calling an illegal retaliation move after workers at the location voted to unionize.
The company said the coffee giant had notified employees at the College Ave location. near Cornell University a week before the closure, with the store expected to close permanently on June 10.
It’s one of three Starbucks locations in Ithaca Vote to unify on April 8th.
Workers at the College Ave site. previously went on strike for a day in April over what the union considers unsafe working conditions – “a waste emergency caused by overflow grease traps.” Starbucks later cited the grease trap as the reason for closing the location, according to the union.
“This is clearly retaliation for our petty understanding of the dignity of workers, but our strike has shown them what power we have,” said Benjamin South, an employee of the company. staff at the College Ave. location, said in a statement.
A union commission says it is filing an unfair labor practice fee with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that Starbucks closed stores in retaliation for workers’ practices covered by labor laws. protective action.
The union also accused Starbucks of breaching its legal obligations by haggling over store closures and that the company closed stores to prevent other workers from uniting.
Starbucks did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.
Starbucks Spokesperson told Bloomberg that the closure was unrelated to consolidation and was instead based on issues of facilities, staffing, and time attendance.
“We open and close stores as part of our regular operations,” spokeswoman Reggie Borges told the website Friday. “With deep care and urgency, we’re constantly working to create the kind of store environment that our partners and customers expect from Starbucks. Our goal is to ensure that every partner is happy. supported in their own circumstances and we had an immediate opportunity in the market.”
Starbucks stores nationwide have seen a dramatic increase in union organization over the past few months, with more than 230 Starbucks stores filing union election petitions and approximately 50 stores voting to join. national workers union from December to early May.
