SCOTUS to Hear Starbucks-Labor Union Dispute

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on Friday said it will hear Starbucks' appeal against an order of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to re-hire seven baristas fired in 2022, allegedly for attempting to unionize.1
  • Memphis-based US District Judge Sheryl Lipman initially granted an injunction to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to press Starbucks to re-employ its workers at a store in Memphis, who it claimed had been ousted in retaliation for their union activity.2
  • Though the NLRB said the employees were unlawfully fired so as to deter others from supporting the union drive, Starbucks argued they had violated safety rules at the store, including allowing unauthorized access to journalists.3
  • Last year, Judge Lipman's decision was upheld by Ohio-based US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which Starbucks had already complied with despite approaching SCOTUS against it.4
  • Workers at more than 370 stores have voted to unionize since 2021. Starbucks — which operates over 10K stores in the US — has faced hundreds of labor-law complaints accusing it of eliminating a critical NLRB tool 'to hold corporations accountable for unlawful acts.'5

Sources: 1JURIST, 2Reuters, 3NBC, 4Guardian and 5BBC News.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by FOX News. Starbucks is merely applying the law of the land, yet is being punished with litigation. Why should the company's safety reputation be staked on the whims of a few employees? The workers who were fired, along with the bodies representing them, have been graceless in rebuffing the cafe chain's many conciliatory overtures made in good faith. The labor union is looking for blood.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by New York Times. Starbucks is in a war of attrition against its rapidly unionizing workforce. The company is nipping away at the workers' morale and spirit in plain sight, playing underhand tricks against legitimate attempts at collectivization. Starbucks must be held accountable for resorting to threats, spying, harassment, and firing to browbeat its employees away from any thought of organizing.

Predictions