In a surprising move, Starbucks Corporation announced the impending closure of its remaining outlets in Ithaca, New York, a year following the successful unionization of all its stores in the city.
Starbucks officials notified employees at the East Seneca Street and South Meadow Street stores earlier this month, stipulating a closure deadline of May 26.
Starbucks maintains that the decision to shut down the stores is rooted in their financial performance, rather than the recent unionization.
However, skepticism among employees is rife, with one worker sharing to the Cornell Daily Sun that management attributed the impending closures to the union’s presence.
Starbucks corporate remained silent when asked to comment on the issue.
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This development follows the earlier unionization of three Starbucks stores in Ithaca, a concerted effort led by Starbucks Workers United. In the aftermath, the company shuttered its most lucrative locations, leaving the city with only two independent Starbucks stores.
With the closure of the profitable College Avenue store, patrons were compelled to frequent the remaining locations, leading employees to question the corporation’s narrative regarding the motive behind the closures.
Confidential corporate emails paint a divergent picture about the reasoning for the College Avenue store closure. Starbucks executives alluded to “brand needs” as the primary justification for the decision, raising workers’ suspicions that the negative press over the union drive and complaints about work conditions may be the real reasons.
The closure of these outlets coincides with a surge of nationwide scrutiny on Starbucks’ treatment of union organizers.
On Capitol Hill, lawmakers grilled Interim CEO Howard Schultz, accusing his leadership of implementing illegal strategies to thwart union formation.
In response, Schultz vehemently denied any wrongdoing, stating before a Senate panel, “Starbucks coffee company, unequivocally — and let me set the tone for this very early on — has not broken the law.”
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Starbucks Workers United reports that more than 300 Starbucks outlets across the U.S. have unionized. Nevertheless, none of these stores have successfully negotiated a contract with the corporation, further adding to the contention surrounding Starbucks’ labor practices.
The workers union is organizing a demonstration to “to protest the company’s shameless union busting” in response to the closing of the stores Friday afternoon.
Amidst these accusations, it remains to be seen whether the coffee giant’s decision to shutter its Ithaca stores represents a calculated financial move or a strategic pushback against unionization.