Starbucks Shuts Down New York Store After ‘Woke’ Employees Unionize, Although Company Denies It’s Related

Starbucks recently shut down a store in Ithica, New York after the “woke” employees voted to unionize in April.

In a Friday filing with the National Labor Relations Board, the union that’s backing organizing efforts at Starbucks, Workers United, said that Starbucks is violating federal labor law by permanently closing the store.

The group alleged it was in retaliation and CNBC called it the latest escalation between a rapidly growing national labor movement and the coffee giant.

According to the report, the store’s workers say they originally went on strike for unsafe working conditions on Apr. 16.

The Employees walked out due to a waste emergency caused by the overflowing grease trap, according to the union’s statement and in an email to the union’s bargaining committee, Starbucks cited the grease trap as the reason for the store closure.

The union committee, however, alleges that Starbucks closed the store in retaliation for activity protected by federal labor law and to stop workers elsewhere from organizing.

In a statement, the committee said, “It is a clear attempt to scare workers across the country by retaliating against its own employees” and that it opens and closes stores “as a regular part” of its operations.

A Starbucks spokesperson told CNBC in an email, “Our goal is to ensure that every partner is supported in their individual situation, and we have immediate opportunities available in the market.”

In response to the store closure, the union is asking the agency to seek a federal court injunction to quickly prevent or reverse it.

ACT for America’s Brigitte Gabriel reported in a tweet, “Woke crybaby Starbucks employees unionized their store in Ithaca, NY. Starbucks shut down the store in response.”

“Good for them,” Gabriel declared.

Woke crybaby Starbucks employees unionized their store in Ithaca, NY.

Starbucks shut down the store in response. Good for them.

— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) June 4, 2022