Labor board: Starbucks broke law in Everett, Seattle store closures

EVERETT — A shuttered Starbucks on Evergreen Way should be open and serving coffee, according to the National Labor Relations Board.

In a complaint earlier this month, the board’s Seattle office accused Starbucks of closing stores last year to discourage union activity.

The Everett store at 11802 Evergreen Way is one of 23 locations across the United States, including seven in Seattle, that the labor relations board asked Starbucks to reopen “immediately.” The complaint, penned by the Seattle-based regional director, also demanded Starbucks rehire all affected workers, compensate them with backpay and pay all search-for-work expenses.

The allegations lack merit, Starbucks spokesperson Andrew Trull said Thursday.

“The difficult decision to close any store follows an extensive review process,” Trull wrote in an email. “And is done without regard to union status.”

Seven of the 23 stores mentioned in the complaint had union representation, including four Washington stores. The Everett store had not formed a union before closing. It is unclear if a union vote was in the works.

As of early December, the board had certified unions at 367 of the nearly 10,000 Starbucks stores across the United States. An Everett store at 3625 Broadway was the first Starbucks in Snohomish County to form a union in June 2022. Later that month, the Everett baristas went on strike after one former coworker said she was fired for supporting the union.

A Starbucks in Marysville voted to form a union last June. The labor board then filed a complaint alleging Starbucks tried to discourage union activity at the Marysville store.

The case was still open this week.

The nation’s top labor watchdog has filed a slew of complaints against Starbucks since its stores began unionizing in 2021. Judges have ruled Starbucks violated labor law more 100 times since 2021, according to a report by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The board had more than 500 pending cases against Starbucks when that report was released in April.

Starbucks credited many of the closures in 2022 to safety concerns. The company mentioned other reasons including the well-being of workers, challenges to “maintaining a welcoming environment,” and lease expiration.

In the fiscal year ending October 2022, Starbucks opened 437 stores and closed 116 stores. About 3% were represented by a union, Trull said.

The recent complaint came the same day a third-party report found no evidence of an “anti-union playbook” or instructions on how to skirt labor laws at Starbucks. Starbucks consultant and labor expert Thomas Mackall, who wrote the report, concluded the company was unprepared for widespread union activity and should revise its Global Human Rights Statement to better guide management moving forward.

Beyond reopening stores, rehiring and compensating workers, the board said Starbucks needs to bargain with union stores over the closures. Managers and supervisors should also go through National Labor Relations Act training, the board said in the complaint.

A judge is set to hear the case the morning of Aug. 20 at the Jackson Federal Building in Seattle. Depending on the judge’s decision and recommended order, Starbucks can appeal to the board at the national level.

The board is asking Starbucks to reopen local stores at:

Sydney Jackson: 425-339-3430; sydney.jackson@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @_sydneyajackson.