Starbucks Corporation

Starbucks fires Memphis workers over trade allegations in bitter union fight

Starbucks (SBUX), in the midst a bitter battle over a wider unionization drive, fired seven employees at a Memphis location.

Starbucks Workers United reports that seven Starbucks employees – representing 35% of the total staff – were fired by the coffee giant on Tuesday. This includes almost the entire union organizing committee. Although the coffee giant confirmed the dismissals, both sides had different reasons for the firings.

Reggie Borges (a Starbucks spokesperson) stated to Yahoo Finance that the firings were caused by “several security and safety violations.” This included employees who allowed a local media member into the store after-hours for an interview. The tweet was also posted on Twitter last year.

Borges stated in an email that “our investigation revealed partners violated many policies, including maintaining secure work environments and safe security standards.”

Starbucks also claimed that workers allowed unauthorized visitors to enter the store behind the counter and back, while leaving the door open and unlocked. According to Starbucks, the store was opened by an employee without authorization.

Borges stated that this is consistent with our actions when partners violate policies. “It crosses a threshold in a security and safety perspective that we simply cannot allow.”

The Memphis cafe’s organized labor movement, which started in January, led to the escalating action. The employees claimed they knew some protocols but accused the coffee giant for retaliation. They claimed that the company has “a million protocols, there’s no possible way that we could know them.”

Nabretta Hardin, a barista at Starbucks, began working there a year ago. She was among the Tuesday employees who were fired “on the spot”, a decision she resentfully condemned.

“They claim that we have broken policies to allow customers into the store when it is closed,” Hardin said to Yahoo Finance during a telephone interview.

“The news crew was present before the store closed, and they ordered a drink. The barista explained that Starbucks was basically telling them that they gave them the drink free of charge, even though they had to pay for it.

Former employee claimed that the company fired the workers as retaliation to organizing and speaking with the media.

Yahoo Finance: “I feel like I’ve been silenced because they know that this is a way for the partners to vote ‘No’,” she said.

Hardin said, “So they’re trying get out all of the people that will vote for ‘Yes’ and they’re firing these individuals especially those who speak up on this topic.”

Workers United stated in a statement that they plan to file charges against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Starbucks did not provide any information about the number of employees who were fired due to such violations during the year.

Starbucks Corp. is involved in the marketing and sale of specialty coffee. It has three segments: North America, International and Channel Development. The North America and International segments are for coffee, other beverages, food supplements, packaged coffees, single-serve products, and a limited selection of merchandise through licensed stores and company-oriented shops. Channel Development includes sales of ready-to-drink coffee, tea, and packaged coffee to customers not in its licensed and company-operated stores. Some of the firm’s brands are Seattle’s Best Coffee and Ethos. The company was founded on November 4, 1985 by Jerry Baldwin, Howard D. Schultz, and has its headquarters in Seattle, WA.

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Starbucks plans to require weekly testing or vaccinations after Supreme Court ruling

• Starbucks has canceled its plans to require baristas that they get vaccinated and undergo weekly testing following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Biden administration’s Covid protection mandate.
• Starbucks also forbade employees from wearing cloth masks and required them to use medical-grade masks.
• The company stated that more than 90% of employees have reported their vaccination status, and that the “vast majority”, or 95%, have been fully vaccinated.

Starbucks has canceled its plans to require baristas get vaccinated and undergo weekly testing.

This decision follows the Supreme Court’s last week ruling that the Biden administration was in violation of the law by mandating large private employers to conduct weekly testing for workers not fully vaccinated.

John Culver (chief operating officer, North American group president at Starbucks), wrote Tuesday to baristas, “While the [Emergency Temporary Standard] has been paused, but I want to stress that we still believe strongly in the spirit of the mandate.” The letter was viewed by CNBC.

According to the company, it will encourage baristas not to get vaccinated and encourage them to disclose their vaccination status.

Culver stated in the letter that over 90% of workers had disclosed their vaccination status, and that the “vast majority”, have been fully vaccinated. The company had 228,000 employees in the U.S. as of September 27, 2020.

General Electric announced last week that it had suspended its mandate to its workforce for vaccine-or-testing.

Starbucks announced Wednesday that it will no longer allow employees to wear cloth masks at work due to new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The company stated that they must wear at least one medical-grade, three-ply mask. The N95, KN95 and KF94 masks can also be used, but the coffee giant stated that it would not be able supply them to workers due to supply constraints.

Starbucks announced that it will temporarily increase its self-isolation policy in order to reduce the incidence of Covid infection.

Baristas who have been exposed at work or are in close contact with someone who has tested positive for any reason, are advised to self-isolate. Starbucks will pay self-isolation compensation for workers who miss their shifts.