Starbucks to shutter a 4th unionized Seattle store, citing safety

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq: SBUX) will close its store at Broadway and East Denny Way in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood on Dec. 9, the company confirmed.

The store was the coffee giant's first in Seattle to unionize. Starbucks representatives say the closure is the result of pervasive safety issues. Employees will be paid through Dec. 11, the company said.

"At Starbucks, we make every effort to ensure our partners feel safe and supported at work so they can focus on providing our customers the warm, welcoming experience they’ve come to love and expect," a spokesperson said in an email. "Unfortunately, despite several mitigating efforts, safety and security incidents at our Broadway and Denny store have continued to escalate."

The store is the fourth unionized location in Seattle to close this year. This summer, Starbucks shuttered six Seattle stores, three of which had unionized. The cited safety for most of the closures, though in August it closed a unionized store at 9999 Holman Road NW as part of a move to transition the store's operations to the QFC grocery store with which it shares a building.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2022/11/22/starbucks-closing-store.html

[marble falls]

1. Safety, right? Smells just like union busting.

[usonian]

2. SixBucks Sucks.

From Wikipedia (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0) (You are free to Share—to copy, distribute and transmit the work)

American Unionization Efforts

American unionization efforts
Main article: Starbucks unions
LOTS OF INFO AT THIS LINK


Three of the company's stores in Buffalo, New York began an attempt to unionize in August 2021.[71] Using Twitter, the workers announced they had formed an organizing committee, Starbucks Workers United, to form a union affiliated with Workers United.[72] Two more stores joined the effort in September, however these petitions were later withdrawn to ensure a speedy process for the original three locations.[73][74][75] On November 9 Workers United filed three more petitions for elections to represent workers at additional Buffalo area stores.[76] On November 10 the National Labor Relations Board mailed out votes for the elections at the original three locations.[77] Votes for the original three stores were counted on December 9.[78] Days before the vote count, the NLRB rejected arguments by Starbucks to halt the election.

Inspired by their colleagues in Buffalo, workers at a Starbucks store in Mesa, Arizona petitioned the NLRB for a union election on November 18, 2021, to be represented by Workers United. The organizing at the Mesa location stemmed from, in part, a well-liked manager at the location being terminated after whistle-blowing on Starbucks' anti-union plan.[79]

Starbucks temporarily closed two of the stores participating in the union drive in October for renovations. The company claimed these closures were unrelated to the unionization efforts.[80] Starbucks began working with Littler Mendelson, a self-described "union-busting firm", in October.[81][82][83] Starbucks requested that the National Labor Relations Board include all Buffalo Starbucks locations in the union vote, however, the NLRB rejected this argument and declared store by store elections.[84][77] Finally, on December 9, 2021, the workers at the Elmwood Avenue store became the first unionized Starbucks workers at a Starbucks owned location in the United States with a 19–8 vote.The Camp Road location voted 12–8 to not be in the union.[71] Starbucks does have unionized locations in other countries.[71]

On December 13, workers at two Boston area locations petitioned the NLRB for union elections to be unionize with Workers United. The workers cited the win in Buffalo as inspiration for organizing. Workers in at least one location had a majority of cards signed within a day.[85]

In February 2022, Starbucks fired seven workers in Memphis who had been leading the unionization effort there, and temporarily closed the store.[86]

In August 2022, the National Labor Relations Board accused the company of illegally discriminating against unionized workers by refusing them wage and benefit increases and requested restitution. It also asked that the CEO at the time, Howard Schultz, or a board official read a notice about this supposedly unlawful move.[87]

As of August 2022, unions were certified at 211 locations in the US.[88]

On November 17, 2022, Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day and one of the busiest days for employees, over 100 locations had employees go on strike. The workers were seeking higher staffing levels, better wages, and consistent schedules.[89]

Union Busting

Union Busting

In 2022, over a period of few months, Starbucks fired more than 85 workers in the US involved in organizing worker unions against unfair labor practices.[405] The workers also accused Starbucks of creating a culture of fear and surveillance in the store.

References are on the main page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starbucks