National Labor Relations Board judge orders Starbucks to re-hire 4 fired Pittsburgh workers
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A National Labor Relations Board judge has ordered Starbucks to re-hire four workers who were fired in Pittsburgh.
Judge Robert Ringler was clear in his 50-page ruling, saying Starbucks was out to stop union activity and the company targeted the four employees to make an example of them. The ruling cited Starbucks for multiple alleged federal labor law violations against the four employees.
The employees claimed they were subjected to surveillance, told they were going to lose their jobs, couldn't transfer and could lose pending or promised raises all for their alleged union organizing activities.
In his ruling, the judge wrote of the employees and company's actions, saying:
"Repeated pattern of unlawful activity abundantly demonstrates a causal relationship between their firings and union activities."
The ruling covers Starbucks employees at four Pittsburgh stores: South Craig Street, Market Square, the Penn Center East store and the Bloomfield store.
"Starbucks fired 3 of the 5 members of the Union's effects bargaining team. This appears to be less than coincidental. Or put another way, a whopping 60% firing rate for the effects bargaining team seems more like a purge than an evenhanded practice," the judge said in the ruling.
Workers United and Service Employees International Union, which represented the four in the case, posted on social media that the company's action showed just how scared of its own workers the company is.
Starbucks released a statement, saying in part:
"We disagree with the administrative law judge's recommendations, and we look forward to a full legal review of these spring 2022 allegations."