Starbucks sued the union organizing its workers Wednesday, saying a pro-Palestine social media post from a union account early in the Israel-Hamas war angered hundreds of customers and damaged its reputation.
Starbucks is suing for trademark infringement, demanding that Workers United stop using the name Starbucks Workers United for the branch that is organizing the coffee companyB次元官网网址檚 workers. Starbucks also wants the group to stop using a circular green logo that resembles StarbucksB次元官网网址� logo.
On Oct. 9, two days after across communities in southern Israel, Starbucks Workers United posted B次元官网网址淪olidarity with Palestine!B次元官网网址� on X, formerly known as Twitter. Workers United B次元官网网址� a Philadelphia-based affiliate of the Service Employees International Union B次元官网网址� has said the post was up for no more than 40 minutes before it was deleted.
But posts and retweets from local Starbucks Workers United branches supporting Palestinians and condemning Israel were still visible on X Wednesday. Seattle-based Starbucks filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, noting that Iowa City Starbucks Workers United was among those posting pro-Palestinian messages.
In a letter sent to Workers United on Oct. 13, Starbucks demanded that the union stop using its name and similar logo. In its response, Workers United said Starbucks Workers UnitedB次元官网网址檚 page on X clearly identifies it as a union.
B次元官网网址淪tarbucks is seeking to exploit the ongoing tragedy in the Middle East to bolster the companyB次元官网网址檚 anti-union campaign,B次元官网网址� Workers United President Lynne Fox wrote in a letter to Starbucks.
Starbucks said it received more than 1,000 complaints about the unionB次元官网网址檚 post. The Seattle-based coffee giant said workers had to face hostile customers and received threatening phone calls. Vandals spray-painted Stars of David and a swastika on the windows of a Rhode Island store.
Some lawmakers, including Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, called for boycotts of Starbucks.
B次元官网网址淚f you go to Starbucks, you are supporting killing Jews,B次元官网网址� Florida state Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican, tweeted on Oct. 11.
StarbucksB次元官网网址� official statements on the war have expressed sympathy for innocent victims in both Israel and Gaza.
B次元官网网址淪tarbucks unequivocally condemns acts of hate, terrorism and violence,B次元官网网址� Starbucks Executive Vice President Sara Kelly wrote in a letter to employees last week.
Workers United hasnB次元官网网址檛 issued its own statement. But its parent, the SEIU, said Tuesday that it has many members with family on both sides of the conflict and believes B次元官网网址渁ll Israelis and Palestinians deserve safety, freedom from violence, and the opportunity to thrive.B次元官网网址�
Starbucks Workers United has been operating under that name since August 2021, a few months before it unionized its first Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York. Since then, at least 366 U.S. Starbucks have voted to unionize. The campaign helped kick off a by Amazon workers, Hollywood writers and actors and auto workers.
But Starbucks doesnB次元官网网址檛 support unionization and at any of its unionized stores. The process has been contentious, with workers organizing . Federal district judges and administrative judges with the National Labor Relations Board have issued 38 decisions finding unfair labor practices by Starbucks, the NLRB said, including delaying negotiations and withholding benefits from unionized workers.
Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press
