More workers say Starbucks retaliated for union efforts: ‘I lost everything when they fired me’
In April 2022, Hannah Whitbeck, a barista at a Starbucks store in Ann Arbor, Michigan was fired just weeks after she helped file for a union election at her store, which many employees voted in favor of shortly after her termination.
Whitbeck filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging her termination was in retaliation for union organising. On 7 October, a judge with the NLRB ruled she was illegally fired, ordering her reinstatement with back pay and the arrangement of a meeting to clarify workers’ rights and how Starbucks broke the law.
“I think it’s abhorrent what Starbucks is doing because ultimately, we are all people, and I know most of us, myself included, relied very heavily on this job. This was my income, and then I was getting schooling, which I lost. I had healthcare, lost that, I had mental health services, I lost that. I lost everything when they fired me,” said Whitbeck.
Dozens of workers have now filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB alleging they’ve experienced retaliation for union organising, including terminations. On 12 October, a NLRB judge ruled in favor of four other fired Starbucks workers in Kansas and Missouri, ordering their reinstatement as well.
The board has issued 35 complaints against Starbucks, encompassing more than 800 allegations of federal labor law violations as about 250 Starbucks stores have voted to form unions over the past year.
Whitbeck said she anticipates Starbucks will try to appeal against the ruling, but given the ruling and facts of the case, doesn’t expect to see a change. She views her firing and the terminations of more than 125 Starbucks workers heavily involved in union organising this year as part of union
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