Federal labor regulators accused Starbucks on Wednesday of illegally closing 23 stores, six of them in Los Angeles County, to suppress organizing activity and sought to force the company to reopen them.
A complaint issued by a regional office of the National Labor Relations Board argued that Starbucks had closed the stores because its employees engaged in union activities or to discourage employees from doing so. At least seven of the 23 stores identified had unionized.
The Los Angeles area stores include:
- 8595 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood
- 5453 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles
- 120 S Los Angeles St., Los Angeles
- 6290 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles
- 232 E 2nd St., Los Angeles
- 1601 Ocean Front Walk, Santa Monica
The agency’s move is the latest in a series of accusations by federal officials that Starbucks has broken the law during a two-year labor campaign.
Also see: Starbucks audit finds chain ‘missteps’ but no ‘antiunion playbook’
Stores likely won’t reopen soon
The case is scheduled to go before an administrative judge next summer unless Starbucks settles it earlier. In addition to asking the judge to order the stores reopened, the complaint wants employees to be compensated for the loss of earnings or benefits and for other costs they incurred as a result of the closures.
“This complaint is the latest confirmation of Starbucks’ determination to illegally oppose workers’ organizing,” Mari Cosgrove, a Starbucks employee, said in a statement issued through a spokesperson for the union, Workers United.
Related: Workers at an LA Starbucks file petition to unionize
A Starbucks spokesperson said, “Each year as a standard course of business, we evaluate the store portfolio” and typically open, close or alter stores. The company said it opened hundreds of new stores last year and closed more than 100, of which about 3% were unionized.
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