Starbucks Union to Strike Over Alleged Pride Decoration Ban

Facts

• The Starbucks Workers United union on Friday said that more than 3K workers at more than 150 US Starbucks stores will go on strike in response to reports the company is banning Pride Month decorations at some of its cafes.¹
• The union said the strike, which will take place over the next week, is meant to demand all Starbucks stores be permitted to decorate with Pride paraphernalia, and that the company recognizes a union contract.²
• The Seattle-based company denied there has been any change to its policy on LGBTQ+ support or decoration in its stores.³
• However, the union claims that many local Starbucks managers, who have been granted autonomy by the company — including ones in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri — have opted to ban Pride décor.⁴
• Pride Month celebrations have met controversy related to several companies in the US, with Target deciding to remove its Pride displays in response to threats to its employees, and Bud Light facing a boycott from conservatives responding to the beer’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.⁵

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²USA Today, ³Associated Press, ⁴CNN, and ⁵Business Insider.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by NPR Online News. Starbucks is obviously caving to the toxic right-wing ecosystem and turning its back on the LGBTQ+ community, as employees in nearly half of US states have reported being denied the right to decorate their stores for Pride. In response, Starbucks’ explanations have been nebulous at best. If Starbucks wants to stop the strike, it will have to make a definitive statement in support of decorating stores for Pride.
• Right narrative, as provided by Breitbart. Few companies have been more left-leaning over the past decades than Starbucks, yet even it isn’t immune from attacks by the woke mob that won’t rest until it’s pushed its ideologies on everyone. Polls show Americans oppose a lot of these far-left ideologies, and Starbucks is well within its rights to pull back from being an advocate for something that’s unpopular. The woke mob should give it a rest, and unions should stop shamelessly grandstanding and politicking as they negotiate contracts.