Starbucks Files NLRB Complaint Against Pride Decor Union

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Starbucks hit back on Monday against the union that represents baristas at hundreds of its stores, filing a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board over allegations by Starbucks Workers United that dozens of its stores were not allowed to install the pride month decor.

The charges come after employees at some Starbucks locations began picketing on Friday in response to the claims. More than 150 stores have pledged to join strikes across the country, representing nearly 3,500 workers, Workers United said. Starbucks has more than 9,000 company-owned cafes in the United States

The union has alleged cases in at least 22 states where managers told baristas they couldn’t decorate for Pride Month in June, or where Pride flags were taken down. The company said it has not changed its decorations policy.

In Monday’s NLRB complaint related to the union’s allegations, Starbucks said “the union and its agents have engaged in a campaign of defamation that includes deliberate misrepresentations to Starbucks partners.”

“The union violations have inflamed and fueled workplace tensions and divisions and caused strikes and other business disruptions at Starbucks stores,” Starbucks said in the filing. “The union’s unlawful campaign includes, but is not limited to, willful misrepresentation which includes malicious and reckless misrepresentations about Starbucks’ longstanding support of Pride Month and decorations in its stores. The union knowingly and falsely stated that Starbucks had banned all Pride decorations from its stores.”

In a second filing to the NLRB in response to the union’s description of benefits for LGBTQ+ workers, the coffee giant said: “Starbucks continues to provide state-of-the-art gender-affirming care benefits to its partners. industry. The union has knowingly and falsely stated that Starbucks has eliminated or changed benefits for its LGBTQIA2+ partners.”

The union said it had filed its own complaint in response to claims that stores were barred from decorating. He said some of the strikes were related to those accusations as well as his claims that Starbucks is trampling on labor negotiations.

Workers United said it was confident the charges filed by Starbucks would be dismissed and called them “a public relations stunt designed to distract from Starbucks’ own actions.”

“Every charge Starbucks has made against our union has been dismissed by the NLRB as lacking in merit. Look at what Starbucks does, not what it says,” the union said in a statement.

“While attacking the union representing its own workers, Starbucks has now changed its policies in response to worker actions. If Starbucks truly wants to be an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, they will actually listen to their gay workers by coming to the table. negotiation. negotiate in good faith,” added Starbucks Workers United.

For its part, Starbucks maintains that Workers United has only responded to a quarter of the more than 450 negotiation sessions Starbucks has offered for individual stores nationwide, to date, and said it s is committed to advancing negotiations towards a first contract.

Starbucks took additional steps Monday to communicate to employees that its policies on decorating in stores had not changed. Managers receive safety and security guidelines and can make decisions within this framework.

Starbucks says it has encouraged and continues to encourage stores to celebrate Heritage Months with partners including Pride.

“I would like to reaffirm that none of our policies have changed with respect to our inclusive store environments, our corporate culture and the benefits we provide to our partners. To further emphasize this, we have the intending to issue clearer centralized guidelines, and leveraging resources such as the Period Planning Kit (PPK) and Siren’s Eye, for visual displays and in-store decorations that will continue to represent inclusivity and our brand” , said Sara Trilling, executive vice president of Starbucks North America, in a message to partners sent Monday, “No one can take away our heritage and our continued commitment to be a place where we all belong.”

“Throughout our journey, our partners have told us that you want to be creative in how our stores are represented and that you consider visual creativity in stores to be part of who we are and our culture” , Trilling said. “Similarly, we have also heard through our partner channels that there is a need for clarity and consistency on current guidelines around visual displays and decorations.”

The dispute over Pride decorations at Starbucks stores comes as states across the country have passed a series of laws targeting LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender Americans. Conservative consumers have boycotted the inclusion or marketing to transgender people by brands such as Bud Light and Target.

The Starbucks union allegations suggested the backlash had reached Starbucks, which has long had a reputation as a liberal stronghold in corporate America and touted its health benefits for LGBTQ+ workers.

CNBC’s Amelia Lucas contributed to this report.

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