Supreme Court agrees to hear Starbucks appeal in Memphis union case

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear Starbucks’ appeal in a dispute with the National Labor Relations Board over workers’ attempts to unionize at a store in Memphis, Tennessee.

The case is one of the most closely watched in the more than two-year effort to unionize Starbucks’ U.S. stores.

Starbucks laid off seven employees in Memphis in February 2022 over safety concerns. The Seattle coffee giant said it violated company policy by reopening a store after hours and inviting non-employees — including a television crew — to enter and move around the store.

But the NLRB intervened, saying the company unlawfully interfered with employees’ right to organize and that the store had routinely allowed employees to gather there after hours. The NLRB asked a federal judge for an immediate injunction requiring Starbucks to rehire the employees.

In August 2022, a federal judge agreed and ordered Starbucks to reinstate the workers. That decision was later upheld by the Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals. Starbucks appealed to the Supreme Court.

The legal issue in this case is the standard that courts should use when deciding whether to issue an injunction against a company in the midst of an employment dispute. Starbucks said the lower courts in this case applied a more lenient standard in deciding whether to grant the injunction to the labor board, while other federal courts applied a stricter standard.

“We are pleased that the Supreme Court has decided to consider our request to create a level playing field for all U.S. employers by ensuring that a single standard is applied as federal district courts determine whether to issue injunctions that are pursued by the National Labor Relations Board,” the company said. said Friday.

Workers United, the union that organizes Starbucks workers, said the company is trying to weaken the Labor Council’s ability to hold companies accountable.

“There is no doubt that Starbucks violated federal law by firing workers in Memphis for joining a union,” Workers United said. “The district court ruled that, and the decision was upheld by one of the most conservative courts in the country.”

The Memphis store ultimately voted to unionize. It is one of at least 370 Starbucks stores that have voted to unionize since the end of 2021.