Starbucks accuses Ann Arbor union of unfair labor practices

ANN ARBOR, MI — The Starbucks corporation filed charges against a unionized Ann Arbor café, claiming the store engaged in unfair labor practices at the bargaining table earlier this month.

Starbucks corporate officials said the company filed the unfair labor practice charges against Workers United and its representatives in five store locations across the country, including Buffalo, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Louisville and Long Beach.

Five Ann Arbor Starbucks locations have unionized during 2022, with a sixth voting against unionization, according to data from A More Perfect Union. The five stores have been part of a growing movement across the country to unionize Starbucks workers.

Read more: Four Ann Arbor Starbucks stores vote to unionize

The corporate arm of Starbucks filed the unfair labor practice charge against the union at a Starbucks store at 300 S. Main St. in Ann Arbor, saying the store virtually broadcasted in-person bargaining sessions. The store unionized in June.

While it is not illegal to record meetings, precedent from the National Board of Labor Relations has clarified that both sides have a right to refuse recordings.

In its complaint, Starbucks specifically cited an in-person bargaining meeting scheduled with members of Workers United on Oct. 24.

“After Starbucks objected to have a Union computer broadcast the meeting virtually to other individuals not present in the room, Starbucks stated that it would proceed with the agreed-upon meeting provided that the Union ceased its virtual broadcasting of the meeting,” the company wrote in its complaint. “The Union persisted in its insistence on virtual broadcasting of the meeting, which prevented the meeting from continuing.”

Starbucks also claimed that Workers United posted a recording online.

While a representative of Workers United declined to comment on the filing, he did say the union has been disappointed with Starbucks and its bargaining so far.

“For a company that professes openness, their actions at the table speak the opposite,” Casey Martin, a representative for the Chicago & Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United, wrote in an email to MLive/The Ann Arbor News.

“The union continues to be ready to bargain, but unfortunately the company continues to caucus with themselves and over what, we are not sure as they have refused to listen to or consider even the most basic of proposals being put forward by the workers.”

The charges will be investigated by members of the National Labor Relations Board.

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