© Reuters. A Starbucks sign is pictured at one of the companies’ stores in Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake
By Daniel Wiesner
(Reuters) – A U.S. labor board official is seeking an unusual order that requires starbucks corporation (NASDAQ:) to collectively bargain with workers at a Florida store, even after they voted against unionizing by a nearly two-to-one margin.
The regional director of the Tampa, Florida, office of the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint Tuesday alleging that illegal threats, retaliation and surveillance by Starbucks managers were so serious that holding a new election in the store it would be useless.
Starbucks did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Workers at the Estero, Florida, store voted 21-11 in May against forming a union amid a national organizing drive that involved hundreds of Starbucks stores.
The campaign, Starbucks Workers United, has won elections in more than 260 US stores and lost some 70 elections since the end of 2021. The union seeks wage and benefit increases, better health and safety conditions, and protection from unfair termination and discipline.
The new complaint alleges that in the weeks leading up to the election at the Estero store, managers threatened to withhold raises, supervised workers more closely than usual and held mandatory union busting meetings.
The regional director is asking the board to issue a “bargaining order” forcing Starbucks to recognize and bargain with the union at the Estero store.
The NLRB only issues bargaining orders in cases where it finds serious misconduct that cannot be addressed by traditional remedies, such as requiring employers to post notices of violations.
Starbucks faces similar claims in a pending case involving a Buffalo, New York, store where workers voted against unionizing in 2021. The company has generally denied wrongdoing in response to dozens of claims of union misconduct.
The complaint will be heard by an administrative law judge, whose decision may be appealed to the five-member board and ultimately to a federal appeals court.
