The US Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a challenge by Starbucks to a judicial ruling requiring the coffee chain to rehire seven workers at one of its cafes in Memphis, Tenn., who a federal agency determined were fired for supporting a union.
The judge took up Starbucks’ appeal of a lower court ruling that found the company was likely to discourage other workers from exercising their rights under US labor laws by firing the Memphis worker in 2022.
This is the first case to reach the Supreme Court involving an ongoing nationwide campaign to unionize Starbucks stores.
The Memphis store is one of more than 370 Starbucks locations in the United States to consolidate by 2021.
The Seattle-based company has been non-union for decades.
Starbucks had to rehire seven workers at one of its cafes in Memphis, Tenn. AP
The National Labor Relations Board concluded that Starbucks unlawfully fired the Memphis workers for supporting union efforts and sending a message to other workers.
The NLRB sought an injunction to force Starbucks to rehire the workers, which was granted by Memphis-based US District Judge Sheryl Lipman.
The US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals based in Cincinnati, Ohio upheld Lipman’s decision in 2023, blaming Starbucks’ actions.
Starbucks is appealing a lower court ruling that found the company likely discouraged other workers from exercising their rights under US labor laws by firing workers. AFP via Getty Images
Starbucks said it fired employees for violating the company’s security policy by opening their stores without permission and allowing reporters inside.
The company last year said it rehired the seven workers to comply with Lipman’s order, but is still pursuing an appeal of the 6th Circuit’s decision to the Supreme Court.
The company said the 6th Circuit applied too low a bar by requiring the NLRB to show only that there was “reasonable cause” to believe the company committed a labor law violation.
Major business groups, in urging the Supreme Court to hear Starbucks’ appeal, argued that the 6th Circuit and other federal courts have made it too easy for the NLRB to win court orders requiring businesses to take steps to address allegedly illegal labor practices.
More than 700 complaints have been filed with the NLRB accusing Starbucks of illegal labor practices such as firing union supporters, spying on workers and closing stores during labor campaigns.
The 6th Circuit is considering Starbucks’ appeal of an NLRB ruling in a separate case that barred the company from firing or disciplining workers at a location in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Another US appeals court is reviewing the NLRB’s ruling that Starbucks illegally fired union organizers in Philadelphia and refused to negotiate with union workers in Seattle.
The company has denied wrongdoing and said it offers workers competitive wages and benefits and respects their rights under federal labor laws.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
