Starbucks closes New York coffee shop in what union calls revenge: report

The union representing Starbucks workers at a coffee shop in upstate New York alleges that the company closed the site in retaliation against the unions.

labor union The complaint was filed with the US National Labor Relations Council on Friday, accusing the company of violating federal labor law by declaring it would permanently close a store in Ithaca, New York and claiming it was retaliation for labor union activism, according to Bloomberg.

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as a response, Starbucks said closing It was not related to the store that had recently consolidated, but resulted from problems with facilities, staff, and “time and attendance” in the store.

“With great care and urgency, we are constantly working to create the kind of store environment that partners and customers expect from Starbucks. Our goal is to ensure that each partner is supported in their individual situation, and we have immediate market opportunities.”

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Employees at the Ithaca site, located near the campus of Cornell University, voted to join a union in April.

Workers at that location began a one-day strike after they said there was an unsafe situation in the store, saying that a greasy, flowing trap had seeped sewage and oil on the floor.

Pro-union pins sit at a table during an observation party for the Starbucks Employees Union election, December 9, 2021, in Buffalo, New York (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex, File/AP Newsroom)

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“We are opening and closing stores as a regular part of our operations,” Starbucks spokesman Reggie Burgess said Friday, according to the report.

The union is asking the agency to obtain an injunction to prevent or reverse the shutdown more quickly.

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“Starbucks will not get away with retaliation against us like this,” store employee Evan Sunshine said in a statement emailed to Bloomberg from the union. “Whatever it takes, and however long it takes, we will persevere.”

Starbucks, through its attorney, said the company wanted to negotiate with United Workers regarding the impact on employees.

Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, became the first company in the United States to join a syndicate late last year.

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The company operates more than 34,000 stores worldwide.