Starbucks workers at 150 stores plan strike over Pride decor
Starbucks Workers United said the weeklong strike involving more than 3,000 workers will begin Friday, starting at the company’s flagship store in Seattle. The union claims the Pride decoration episodes are just the latest cases of retaliation against workers, including blocking workers’ access to benefits and firing an employee.
In a statement to The Washington Post, Starbucks spokeswoman Rachel Wall accused the union of spreading false information and called the strike a “tactic used to seemingly divide our partners.”
“We apologize to our customers who may experience inconvenience at these locations,” she added.
Last week, the union accused Starbucks managers and regional store managers of blocking workers from putting up Pride flags and other decor that respects LGBTQ+ rights. The organization cited workers who said they had been banned or restricted from putting up decorations, as well as texts and a memo that emerged to show managers who said there had been regional guidance to get stores to follow a more “consistent experience .” The communication could not be independently confirmed by The Post.
The union says it is not alleging such actions were the result of a “top-down corporate national policy,” but added in a statement to The Post that it is “very difficult to believe the company was unaware” of the actions because alleged cases of it happening was so widespread.
Starbucks has vehemently denied the allegations, saying for decades it has supported LGBTQ+ workers through policies such as “gender transition guidelines” and adding gender reassignment surgery to the company’s health benefits. Also, Wall said the company has long had a policy of strengthening “partner celebrations and recognition of a variety of legacy months.”
When asked if the store managers and regional managers could have acted independently of corporate guidance, Wall replied, “When it comes to in-store displays, partners and store management continue to find ways to authentically celebrate with their diverse communities year-round within our safety standards, signage guidelines and dress code.”
“All reported partner concerns in this matter are taken seriously and sent for management review and addressed,” she added in an email.
Starbucks and the workers fighting to organize have been locked in a battle — one that pushed the company’s founder and former CEO, Howard Schultz, to testify about the company’s alleged union-busting before a congressional panel in March. Schultz denied being involved in decisions to fire or discipline union organizers, while saying he had not participated in closing unionized stores.
That testimony came just weeks after a federal administrative law judge found that Starbucks committed “gross and widespread” violations of federal labor law through efforts to stop union campaigns.
