US Labor Board issues complaint against Starbucks

A complaint has been launched against Starbucks by the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday over accusations that the company retaliated against two employees seeking to unionize their store in Phoenix. The workers are part of a campaign that led to creating unions at six stores in the Buffalo area and Arizona since December. Overall, workers at over 100 stores have filed for union elections. 

This is the first formal complaint during the current Starbucks campaign and it contends that Starbucks issued a written warning to one employee and suspended her. The complaint also adds that rejected the scheduling preferences of a second employee leading to her termination, because the employees supported the union. 

In addition to these accusations, the complaint states that Laila Dalton, the first employee was suspended and disciplined after she raised concerns about wages, hours and insufficient staffing on behalf of her co-workers. It adds that the retaliation was meant to discourage other workers from raising similar concerns, even though it is their legal right to. 

Source: The New York Times