Starbucks Union Plans to Strike Over Pride Décor and Labor Practices
Thousands of workers at organized Starbucks stores across the nation will stage strikes over the next week, their union said on Friday, after workers in some states said management prohibited them from putting up decorations for Pride Month.
The company denied the accusations and issued a statement declaring that it “has been and will continue to be at the forefront of supporting the LGBTQIA2+ community.” Starbucks Workers United said employees at more than 150 stores would strike over the company’s labor practices and its “hypocritical treatment of LGBTQIA+ workers.” The union represents about 8,000 of the company’s workers in more than 300 stores.
Starbucks workers in a number of stores said this month that they had been told that no decorations for the annual L.G.B.T.Q.
celebration, such as rainbow flags, were allowed this year, a shift from previous years. In interviews arranged through their union, workers said the given reasons varied.
