In a legal saga with profound implications for the national labor landscape, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted Starbucks’ petition to challenge a prior ruling mandating the reinstatement of seven terminated employees at a Memphis café. The workers, deemed by a federal agency to have been fired for supporting unionization, triggered a precedent-setting case as the first to reach the Supreme Court amidst an escalating nationwide movement seeking to unionize Starbucks outlets.
The contentious episode originated in 2022 when a lower court sided against Starbucks, contending that the company’s dismissal of the Memphis employees likely dissuaded others from exercising their labor rights under U.S. law. The coffee giant, a historically non-union entity until 2021, now finds itself in the high-stakes arena of the Supreme Court.
With over 370 Starbucks locations across the U.S. unionizing since 2021, the Memphis store emerged as a focal point. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined that Starbucks unlawfully terminated the Memphis employees, citing the action as both a response to their pro-union stance and a warning to fellow workers.
The NLRB sought judicial intervention, leading U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman in Memphis to issue an injunction compelling Starbucks to rehire the employees—an order subsequently upheld by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2023. Starbucks, however, contends the firings were justified due to the employees violating a safety policy, asserting that the store was opened without consent and journalists were allowed inside.
Despite the company’s compliance with Lipman’s order to rehire the employees, Starbucks opted to challenge the 6th Circuit’s decision in the Supreme Court. The company argued that the Circuit set an excessively low standard, requiring the NLRB to demonstrate only “reasonable cause” for labor law violations, a stance supported by major business groups urging the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Starbucks faces a mounting caseload, with over 700 complaints filed with the NLRB, accusing the company of various labor transgressions such as terminating union supporters, worker surveillance, and store closures during labor campaigns. As legal battles unfold in different U.S. appeals courts, Starbucks contends that it upholds competitive wages, benefits, and respects employee rights under federal labor laws.
This landmark legal clash not only shapes the future of Starbucks’ labor relations but also resonates as a pivotal moment in the broader campaign for workers’ rights and unionization across the country.
