Starbucks condemned for hindering the creation of unions in the U.S.

A judge of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, the body charged with mediating union disputes in the United States, has condemned this Wednesday to the coffee shop chain Starbucks for its attempts to prevent the creation of unions among its workers.

The case combined 33 allegations of malpractice in 21 Buffalo-area cafeterias. (New York), where several employees who were part of a nationwide initiative to unionize were reprimanded or even lost their jobs.

The company showed “indifference to the fundamental rights of employees.”said the judge in his sentence, issued today and reported by local media.

The order obliges the company to return the jobs of seven workers who, according to the magistrate, were improperly dismissed.

It also asks that Starbucks pay for reduced working hours suffered by other employees in retaliation for their participation in the unionization initiatives, which began in 2021 and gained significant media attention.

Starbucks shall, in addition, issue a message in which it undertakes not to pursue efforts to unionize in the future. The company’s chief executive officer, Howard Schultz, must be present during the reading or deliver the message himself.

The popular company The popular coffee shop company has implied in a statement, reported by The New York Times, that it will will appeal the decision.

Schultz has shown on several occasions its rejection of the creation of trade unions and, like the managers of other large companies, maintains that unionization prevents direct communication between the company and the worker.

In 2021, a campaign to create unions among Starbucks workers had its first victories precisely in Buffalo, after which they have been organized at least 280 unions among the more than 9,000 coffee shops. company-owned cafeterias in the United States.