Starbucks Corporation is appealing to the Supreme Court in a case involving the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the rights of workers to organize. The case stems from the firing of seven employees who were leading a unionization effort at a Starbucks store in Memphis, Tennessee. The NLRB determined that the firings constituted illegal interference with workers’ rights and obtained a court order requiring Starbucks to rehire them.
Starbucks argues that the NLRB’s authority to seek such injunctions is too broad and seeks a narrower standard. The company claims that temporary injunctions can be a major burden for businesses, as the NLRB’s administrative process can take years.
The NLRB, on the other hand, maintains that it already considers its likelihood of success before taking a case to court, making the specific test used largely irrelevant. The agency also notes that it rarely asks courts for temporary injunctions.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Starbucks’ case on Tuesday. The outcome of the case will have significant implications for the ability of the NLRB to protect workers’ rights to organize and for the balance of power between unions and employers.
Workers at 420 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since late 2021, but none of those stores has secured a labor agreement with Starbucks.
The case before the Supreme Court began in February 2022, when Starbucks fired seven employees who were leading a unionization effort in Memphis, Tennessee. Starbucks argued the employees had violated policy by reopening the store after closing time and inviting non-employees – including a television news crew – to come inside.
The National Labor Relations Board determined the firings constituted an illegal interference with workers’ right to organize. The agency found that Starbucks had routinely allowed off-duty employees and non-employees to remain in the store after hours to make drinks or collect belongings.
The NLRB asked a federal district court to intervene and require Starbucks to rehire the workers while the case wound its way through the agency’s administrative proceedings. A district court judge agreed with the NLRB and issued a temporary injunction ordering Starbucks to rehire the workers in August 2022.
After the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling, Starbucks appealed to the Supreme Court. Five of the seven workers are still employed at the Memphis store, while the other two remain involved with the organizing effort, according to Workers United. The Memphis store voted to unionize in June 2022.
Starbucks has asked the Supreme Court to establish the four-factor test as the standard all courts must follow when considering NLRB injunction cases. The NLRB says it already considers its likelihood of success before taking a case to court, making whether courts apply two factors or four largely irrelevant.
