Starbucks responds to Pride-themed decor concerns, announces plans for clearer guidelines. Union walkout and NLRB complaints filed.
Starbucks wants to issue “clearer” centralized standards for in-store visual displays, according to an internal message to employees of the coffee chain, in response to complaints made by a union that managers prohibited Pride-themed decor from being shown in stores.
In the message, Starbucks North America President Sara Trilling stated that the company intends to issue clearer unified standards “for in-store visual displays and decorations that will continue to represent inclusivity and our brand.”
The baristas’ union said that management at dozens of Starbucks stores had either removed Pride Month flags and decorations or prohibited employees from putting them up. This is something the coffee behemoth denies.
On Friday, the union said that more than 3,000 employees at more than 150 Starbucks locations across the United States would be staging a walkout.
On Monday, Starbucks also filed two complaints with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Workers United, claiming the union made false statements about the company’s store decoration rules and gender-affirming health care coverage.
The union stated that the NLRB had already thrown out all of Starbucks’ complaints against them and that any additional allegations would also be thrown out because “they are nothing more than a public relations stunt meant to distract from Starbucks’ own actions.”
According to the union, Starbucks needs to come to the bargaining table with an open mind and listen to their gay employees if it truly wants to be an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Several well-known U.S. retailers have come under fire from conservatives and gay rights groups for their displays of LGBTQ+ products and services.
No responses yet