PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After three years, two Philadelphia Starbucks employees who were fired illegally are getting justice.
A recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) says Starbucks illegally fired two Philadelphia employees and committed other unlawful union-busting practices between 2019 and 2020.
The two Starbucks baristas were fired from stores at South Broad Street and Civic Center Boulevard in 2020.
The NLRB found that beginning in 2019, Starbucks engaged in multiple labor law violations, including threatening, interrogating, surveilling and eventually terminating employees.
The NLRB panel has ordered that the two employees be reinstated with back pay.
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Starbucks Workers United said more than 65 labor complaints have been issued against the company, adding it is “failing to uphold the ‘progressive’ values it touts as a marketing tactic.”
In a statement, a Starbucks spokesperson said the company disagrees with the NLRB’s decision and is “considering all options to obtain a full legal review of the matter.”
The statement continues:
“Will also emphasize that Starbucks is fully committed to our partners’ right to engage in lawful labor activities, but interest in a union does not exempt individuals from following policies and procedures that apply to all partners. All partners receive training on our policies and are aware that failing to uphold them can result in corrective action up to and including separation. Starbucks also trains managers that no partner will be disciplined for engaging in lawful union activity and that there will be no tolerance for any unlawful anti-union behavior.
“We maintain that the individuals cited in the NLRB decision were separated following clear violations of policies outlined in our Partner Guide—not related to, or in retaliation for, any concerted activities, as the decision contends.
“Additionally, it was later determined that both individuals recorded numerous peer partners without consent. These actions were in clear violation of Pennsylvania state law and Starbucks policy, which states: ‘Personal video recording, audio recording or photography of other partners or customers in the store without their consent is not allowed unless authorized by law.’ The Board’s decision seems to ignore that actions to record their peers weren’t authorized under Pennsylvania law and were, therefore, violations of company policy.”