The Starbucks union says workers at more than 150 stores will be striking in protest of the company's treatment of Pride displays
- The union for Starbucks staff says that workers at more than 150 stores will strike in the coming week.
- It said the strikes were in response to Starbucks "hypocritical treatment of LGBTQIA+ workers."
The union representing Starbucks staff says that workers at more than 150 stores will be striking, partly in protest of the company's apparent treatment of Pride displays.
Starbucks Workers United said Friday morning that more than 3,500 workers would be on strike over the course of the next week because of the company's "hypocritical treatment of LGBTQIA+ workers."
The union said that strikers would be "demanding that Starbucks negotiate a fair contract with union stores and stop their illegal union-busting campaign, which has significantly impacted Starbucks' LGBTQIA+ workforce."
A Starbucks spokesperson told Insider that the union was spreading "false information" about its benefits, policies, and negotiation efforts. They said that the company apologized to customers who "may experience an inconvenience" at these locations with striking staff and said that customers can use the Starbucks app or website to check which stores are open.
The union previously told Insider that Starbucks had refused to let workers at some stores decorate for Pride and had taken down Pride flags, and posts alleging this have also circulated on social media.
This came shortly after Bud Light partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in a promotion, prompting a huge wage of conservative backlash.
Not long after that, Target said that it was pulling some items from its Pride Month collection after staff got threats from anti-LGBTQ activists. Reddit users identifying as Target employees said that by removing some displays, the retailer was letting down the LGBTQ community.
Speaking about Starbucks' apparent orders to stores to not decorate for Pride, Moe Mills, a shift supervisor from Richmond Heights, Missouri, said in a statement provided by Workers United: "Their choice to align themselves with other corporations that have withdrawn their 'support' of the queer community in the time we need it most shows that they are not the inclusive company they promote themselves to be."
Starbucks says that there has been "no change" to company policies regarding Pride Month celebrations.
"Our store leaders are each empowered to decorate their stores for heritage months, including Pride Month, within the framework of our established store safety guidelines," the company said earlier this month.
In a letter to Workers United President Lynne Fox on June 14, May Jensen, Starbucks' VP of partner resources, said that statements alleging the company had banned Pride decor were "knowingly and recklessly false."
"NOTHING could be further from the truth," Jensen added,
The union told CNBC that not all of the stores set to strike have had disputes related to Pride decor. At the roastery in Seattle where the strike is set to start on Friday, for example, workers are striking to show solidarity, barista Mari Cosgrove told the publication.
"Frankly, it feels like an attack when these flags are taken down," Cosgrove said. "The partners in these stores really appreciate being able to be seen and feel like this is a community space for them. Starbucks has really prided itself on being a third place, including for its workers."
Starbucks did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of regular working hours, on what would happen to the striking stores.
As of June 22, 329 Starbucks stores in the US have won union elections, according to Perfect Union.