Employees fired at Memphis Starbucks in midst of unionization efforts – USA TODAY
Employees at a Memphis Starbucks were fired Tuesday in the midst of unionization efforts that began in mid-January.
Seven Starbucks workers were fired as of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, including nearly the entire union organizing committee, according to a news release from Starbucks Workers United.
A Starbucks spokesperson confirmed a number of employees were fired following an investigation into “several safety and security violations.” Starbucks employees at the location say they were not aware of what these potential violations were until their unionization efforts began last month.
“Our investigation revealed that partners violated numerous policies, including maintaining a secure work environment and safe security standards,” a Starbucks spokesperson said in an email.
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Starbucks unionization efforts:
This was the first Memphis-area Starbucks in which employees attempted to unionize. A Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, became the first to unionize in December.
A Starbucks spokesperson mentioned the following alleged violations in an email to The Commercial Appeal and called them all “terminable offenses.” Starbucks declined to mention how many employees were fired Tuesday.
LaKota McGlawn, a shift supervisor, started working at Starbucks in December 2020, and was one of the employees let go Tuesday. McGlawn said there were about 20 employees at the Starbucks location on Poplar and Highland.
She also said interviews with TV stations about Starbucks’ efforts to unionize last month played a part in what transpired.
“I hadn’t heard of any that (before this started),” McGlawn said in an interview with The Commercial Appeal on the alleged violations.
McGlawn said they plan to file charges with the National Labor Relations Board.
“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,” said Nikki Taylor, a shift supervisor at the Poplar and Highland store in the news release shared 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. Starbucks will not get away with this — the entire country will be outraged.”
Memphis Restaurant Workers United posted on Twitter they would be hosting a protest beginning 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Starbucks in East Memphis.
Omer Yusuf covers the Ford project in Haywood County, residential real estate and tourism for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached via email Omer.Yusuf@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @OmerAYusuf.
