Starbucks fired workers organizing a union drive in Memphis after they let a TV news crew inside a store while it was closed
- Starbucks fired several Memphis workers trying to organize a union.
- Workers say they were fired in retaliation for talking to the media.
Starbucks fired "several" employees involved in organizing a union in Memphis on Tuesday, the company confirmed to Insider.
The coffee giant says the employees were fired for violating security policies. Starbucks Workers United, the union that would represent the Memphis workers if they won an NLRB vote, says that the company fired workers in retaliation for organizing and speaking to the media. The union said that seven workers, 35% of the store's total workforce, were fired.
Starbucks says workers "violated numerous policies, including maintaining a secure work environment and safe security standards" by staying in the store after hours and allowing unauthorized people in for the interview, pointing to a January 18 tweet from local news outlet WMCA that appears to show a TV crew inside the store.
Starbucks also accused the workers of allowing the unauthorized visitors behind the counter and into the back of the house while leaving the door unlocked and unattended. Finally, Starbucks says a worker who was not given permission opened the store safe.
Any of these violations would automatically result in termination regardless of the union organizing circumstances, Starbucks told Insider.
Starbucks workers involved say that they had never been informed of these policies.
"I was fired by Starbucks today for 'policies' that I've never heard of before and that I've never been written up about before," shift supervisor Nikki Taylor said in a statement provided by Starbucks Workers United. "This is a clear attempt by Starbucks to retaliate against those of us who are leading the union effort at our store and scare other partners."
Workers United plans to file charges with the NLRB, the union said in the statement.
The Memphis workers are part of the wave of unionizations spreading across Starbucks stores following the historic victory of two locations in Buffalo, New York, which now spans more than 50 stores in 19 states.
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