The workers’ commission said it was filing unfair labor practices with the National Labor Council, saying Starbucks was “making a clear attempt to intimidate workers across the country”, according to a press release from Starbucks Workers United.
On Friday, Starbucks informed employees at its location on College Avenue near Cornell University that the store will close in a week, according to a press release.
In April, all three Starbucks locations in Ithaca voted for unionization, making Ithaca the company’s first fully integrated city in the United States, according to a union press release.
On April 16, workers at the College Avenue store went on strike, claiming they were “unsafe working conditions” due to a “waste emergency” caused by an overflowing grease trap, the union said.
Nadia Vitek, a barista at the recent closure, says the grease trap has been a constant problem, creating a “terrible” odor that even customers may notice. They said there was oil on the floor of the store.
“Now they are closing the store and the only specific reason they are giving us is the fat,” Vitek said. “And it feels flashy when you connect the dots.”
On Friday, the store’s district manager met with Microsoft Teams staff to announce the store’s closure, Vitek said.
“I was shocked as I listened to them tell the news,” Vitek said. “They did not even explain in the conversation that this was a final closure. I received this in an email from the anti-union lawyer who has Starbucks.
A company spokesman said Starbucks was opening and closing stores as part of its regular operations. They did not comment on specific reasons for Ithaca’s closure, nor did they answer questions outside the statement.
“Our local, regional and national leaders are working with humility, deep care and urgency to create the shopping environment that partners and customers expect from Starbucks,” said a Starbucks spokesman. “Our goal is to ensure that each partner is supported in their individual situation and we have immediate opportunities available in the market.”
But some Starbucks workers on the site are worried about having enough hours, as other stores in the area are already experiencing difficulties, Vitek said.
“Starbucks continues the strategy of divide and rule. But, you know, even though we’re grieving, we’re all ready to fight, “Vitek said.
Workers United, a subsidiary of the International Union of Service Employees that supports Starbucks employees, has also filed dozens of complaints against the coffee giant.
“Closing a store is a violation of federal labor law because workers have exercised their legal rights,” Ian Hayes, a lawyer with Starbucks Workers United, told CNN Business. “We … have no doubt that the NLRB will sue the company for this illegal trade union breakdown and justice will be done.
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