A federal administrative judge ruled on Wednesday that Starbucks committed “egregious and widespread misconduct” in its response to labor union campaigns at its stores in Buffalo, New York.
Michael A. Rosas, a judge for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), ordered the coffeehouse giant to reinstate seven Buffalo-area workers who were fired, reopen a shuttered location in Buffalo, and bargain with the union at the Camp Road location, where the union election failed as a result of an “extensive and pervasive antiunion campaign” by the company, according to the 203-page decision (pdf).
The decision came following a hearing on the matter. That was in response to the more than 30 charges filed with the labor board by the union alleging unfair labor practices by Starbucks at 21 stores in Buffalo.
Additionally, Rosas ordered Starbucks to post a 13-page notice of its violations in all of its stores in the United States and on all the platforms it uses to communicate with its employees, including text messaging and email, for the duration of the national organizing campaign.
The notice is included as an appendix in the ruling.
The coffee chain must also give backpay and compensation to dozens of Buffalo-area workers who had their hours cut, had promotions withheld, or were denied transfer requests, according to the union.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz must also be present at a reading of the company’s violations in its Buffalo-area stores and distribute a recording of the reading to all of Starbucks’ U.S. employees.
Schultz recently declined a request from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, to testify about Starbucks’ compliance with federal labor laws.
In his decision, Rosas said that Starbucks had violated labor laws hundreds of times during a unionization campaign in Buffalo and shown “a general disregard for the employees’ fundamental rights.”
The judge also said he had found that Starbucks had threatened employees, surveilled them, and more strictly enforced dress codes and other policies, noting the company’s “egregious and widespread misconduct.”
Starbucks must also “cease and desist from infringing in any other manner on rights guaranteed employees,” Rosas said.
The Seattle-based company has denied violating labor laws and argued that the individuals in the case were fired for clear violations of the company’s policies that apply to all employees, and not because of union activities.
In a statement to The Hill, a company spokesperson said Starbucks is looking into appealing the decision with the NLRB.
Both parties in the case have until March 28 to do so.
“We believe the decision and the remedies ordered are inappropriate given the record in this matter and are considering all options to obtain further legal review,” a spokesperson for Starbucks said.
Starbucks has nearly 9,000 stores across the United States. At least 289 of its stores have voted to unionize since the first corporate store voted to do so in Buffalo, New York, in December 2021.
Works are calling for better pay, improved training and staffing, and more say in how the stores are managed and how the technology for mobile orders is used, amid a surge in its use by customers.
The company says it already provides industry-leading benefits such as higher pay but that it respects workers’ right to protest.
Union leaders welcomed the ruling on Wednesday.
“This is truly a historic ruling,” Gary Bonadonna Jr., the regional head of Workers United, told The New York Times. “We will continue to fight and hold billionaires like Howard Schultz accountable for their actions. We will not rest until every Starbucks worker wins the right to organize.”
The Epoch Times has contacted Starbucks for comment.