Starbucks violated labor laws by refusing to recognize unionists at a Seattle store and must sit down to negotiate with representatives, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said Wednesday.
The Starbucks Reserve Roastery store officially voted to unionize in April and the election was certified by the NLRB in May.
But since July, Starbucks has continued to challenge the election without producing new evidence. The store also refused to bargain with and recognize the union, violating labor laws, the NLRB said.
The federal agency ordered Starbucks to cease and desist from not recognizing the union and from bargaining with union representatives.
Within 21 days of receiving the notice, Starbucks must file a form with local NLRB officials attesting to the steps it has taken to comply with the order.
Employees at Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood voted 38 to 27 to join Workers United, which is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union.
The store joins more than 250 Starbucks locations that have unionized in the past two years, part of a new movement that is rapidly spreading to stores across the United States.
Starbucks pushed back aggressively, and union representatives accused the coffee giant of breaking up unions.
A store in Memphis, Tennessee, was ordered to reinstate seven employees in August after a judge found the company unlawfully retaliated against them for joining a union.
Earlier this month, Starbucks employees in more than 100 stores went on strike on Red Cup Day, usually one of the busiest times of the year when the company hands out free reusable cups to customers for the holidays.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who returned to lead the company in April but steps down from the top spot next year, called the organizing efforts a “a new outside force desperately trying to disrupt our business.”
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