Starbucks shuttered the first unionized store in Seattle

Starbucks Corporation shut down the store in Seattle, which was said to be the first branch to unionize. The coffee chain said it made the decision due to safety concerns in the area.

CNN Business reported that this store was the first Starbucks in Seattle where the staff first voted to form a union. The state also turns out to be the company’s home ground thus, the closure is getting more attention.

Moreover, the company’s spokesman said that due to issues with safety, the management was forced to close the store on Broadway and Denny Way as there were many security incidents that have continued to escalate despite the company’s efforts to resolve them. This is the last stand-alone Capitol Hill location of Starbucks. The spokesperson further revealed that the company is shutting the outlet on Dec. 9.

Then again, in spite of Starbucks’ explanation for the closure, union organizers do not view the decision in the same way. They are convinced that this is part of the company’s plan of retaliation for their vote to unionize.

It was noted that this is also the fourth unionized location in Seattle that has been ordered shut by Starbucks since July. the group said they would file an unfair labor practice charge against the coffee chain giant regarding the folding of the Broadway and Denny branch.

“This is the most clear-cut case of retaliation this company has shown closing a union store yet,” the Starbucks Workers United said in a statement after the announcement of the closure. “Starbucks and Howard Schultz are playing petty games with workers’ lives. They lack respect not only for the rights of their workers but for the law of this country.”

To date, the group has already filed numerous similar complaints of unfair labor practices against Starbucks. Since 2021, the union has already filed more than a hundred cases, and it was a win on the side of the workers when the National Labor Relations Board also issued its own complaints against the company.

Meanwhile, Seattle Times reported that based on the records of the Seattle Police Department, there were actually 97 incidents at that Broadway and Denny Starbucks, and these took place between Jan. 1, 2020, and July 10 this year. As for the stores that closed in the summer - Union Square had 68 incidents, while 157 were recorded in the Central District location.

Photo by: June Andrei George/Unsplash