By Beverly Banks

Starbucks must rescind a rule barring the distribution of union materials at a Seattle cafe, the National Labor Relations Board determined, backing an agency judge's conclusions that the coffee giant violated federal labor law by telling workers not to share these items and throwing union pins away.

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday struggled to find agreement between Starbucks Corp. and the National Labor Relations Board on the scope of the agency's power to penalize companies for violating employees' rights, as it considered the coffee chain's challenge to the agency's penalties over its firing of two unionizing workers.

By Law360 Staff

Starbucks violated federal labor law by closing two stores in Ithaca, New York last year in retaliation for workers' union activity, a National Labor Relations Board judge found, rejecting the coffee giant's arguments that the closures were due to staff turnover and recommending that the company be ordered to reopen the locations.

By Beverly Banks

An agency judge rightly cleared Starbucks of claims that the company unlawfully denied an Illinois employee's bids to transfer stores, the National Labor Relations Board concluded, pointing to evidence that the company blocked one request because of the worker's availability.

By Beverly Banks

Starbucks unlawfully texted a worker with questions about union organizing at a Minneapolis cafe, the National Labor Relations Board concluded, nixing the coffee giant's argument that such queries via text message are "inherently less coercive."

By Beverly Banks

A Starbucks manager at a Tennessee cafe illegally told a worker that employees became untrustworthy after union organizing efforts sprang up, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, saying a reasonable employee would consider the remarks a threat of retaliation.

By Beverly Banks

The National Labor Relations Board's order making employers pay for "direct or foreseeable" harms that emanate from federal labor law violations poses "serious constitutional problems," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other groups contended, submitting an unopposed bid to raise this argument in a Third Circuit case involving Starbucks.

By Beverly Banks

Starbucks delayed its challenge of an administrative law judge's decision allowing the National Labor Relations Board general counsel to present evidence relevant to an injunction proceeding, a split NLRB panel determined in a case involving claims that the coffee chain illegally suspended workers in South Carolina.

By Beverly Banks

Two New York federal courts approved the dismissal of National Labor Relations Board injunction petitions against Starbucks, following months of discovery disputes between the agency, company and Workers United.

By Braden Campbell

Starbucks' growing pile of labor violations betrays the company's hostility toward workers' efforts to organize, the National Labor Relations Board said Wednesday, establishing a presumption that may hurt the company's defense against future claims of anti-union retaliation.

By Emily Brill

Starbucks has settled accusations that it bargained in bad faith at over 300 stores by refusing to accommodate virtual bargaining sessions, with a National Labor Relations Board judge approving a settlement in which the company and Workers United agreed to "give reasonable consideration" to each other's bargaining method preferences.

By Tim Ryan

Starbucks asked the National Labor Relations Board to review an agency judge's decision finding the company committed numerous labor law violations in response to organizing at its cafes near Phoenix, saying the board's recent decision tightening scrutiny of workplace rules unconstitutionally restricts employer speech.

By Beverly Banks

The National Labor Relations Board used a "speech-censoring standard" to find a Los Angeles store manager made unlawful comments to a worker about unionization, Starbucks argued to the Eighth Circuit, saying the agency didn't consider evidence about whether employees felt threatened.

By Beverly Banks

Attorneys for Starbucks lawfully questioned workers during representation election hearings, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, concluding that the inquiries were relevant and evidence doesn't back the claim that the questions tried to uncover the identities of union supporters.

By Beverly Banks

Starbucks did not violate federal labor law by issuing subpoenas to Workers United and a fired employee in a case involving a now-shuttered Manhattan cafe, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, finding the coffee conglomerate's need for recordings and documents outweighed workers' interests.

By Beverly Banks

Starbucks illegally threatened the loss of a free college tuition benefit if workers unionized at a cafe in upstate New York, the National Labor Relations Board determined while affirming an agency judge's finding that the coffee chain's so-called captive audience meetings were lawful.

By Beverly Banks

Union organizing did not lead Starbucks to combine three stores in Seattle into one corporate unit, the coffee giant argued to a National Labor Relations Board judge, opposing agency prosecutors' bid for various remedies, including an "unprecedented" disbandment of a business operation called the Heritage District.

By Emily Brill

Starbucks violated federal labor law by offering smaller raises to employees of stores where workers started a nationwide union drive than it did to nonunion workers, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, recommending a broad cease-and-desist order against the company given its "proclivity" to break the law.

By Beverly Banks

The first half of 2024 saw labor gaining ground in contract talks between Starbucks and Workers United and an organizing victory for the United Auto Workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee, but experts shared that the presidential election this year could affect unions' momentum.

By Beverly Banks

A split National Labor Relations Board panel on Thursday upheld the dismissal of a Starbucks worker's bid to oust the union at a Portland, Oregon, cafe, drawing a dissent from the board's lone Republican appointee, who thought the decertification election should happen despite pending unfair labor practice claims.