Starbucks sued after firing Queens union organizer
/
The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection is suing Starbucks for allegedly violating the Fair Workweek law after it fired a union organizer working at an Astoria shop of the coffee company. AP file photo by Joshua Bessex
By Rachel Vick
The city is suing Starbucks over its alleged wrongful firing of a Queens barista who led a successful union effort at his Astoria branch.
A petition filed by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection on behalf of barista and Astoria Starbucks union organizer Austin Locke is the first-ever lawsuit filed for violation of the Fair Workweek law filed by the city, which will now have to prove the coffee company failed to show just cause in the termination.
“As we approach Labor Day, it’s important to remember that workers are the backbone of our city and deserve the right to organize to promote safer and fairer work practices,” said DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga. “Any violation of the City’s Fair Workweek Law is unacceptable. DCWP stands ready to fight for the dignity and respect that all workers deserve from their employers.”
Locke, who worked at the store on 31st Street and Ditmars Boulevard, first issued a complaint to the DCWP in mid-July, alleging he was wrongfully terminated — one month after the incident and five days after the successful union vote.
The complaint is seeking reinstatement, civil penalties, as well as restitution and back pay which will continue to add up until he returns to work.
The Fair Workweek Law, which went into effect in 2017, makes it illegal for fast food employers to fire workers or reduce their hours by more than 15 percent without just cause if they have worked for at least 30 days. If a judge rules in favor of the employee, the business responsible is required to pay both the wrongfully terminated person and the city for canceled shifts.
Starbucks claimed they fired Locke because he failed to fill out a COVID-19 questionnaire and falsely reported an incident of unwanted physical contact with a manager.
The city’s complaint said the incident occurred out of frame, and that the company failed to prove Locke violated the health and safety policy or receive discipline before termination. Locke said he could not complete the questionnaire due to technical difficulties with the tablet he was required to complete it on.
If the ruling goes in his favor, Locke could return to work with $300 for each of 6 lost shifts. The city would receive $500 for each.
“It‘s been a year since the campaign with Starbucks Workers United began at a Starbucks in Buffalo, NY,” Locke said. “There are now 235 unionized Starbucks around the country. Starbucks continues to wrongfully fire pro-union workers nationwide in retaliation for union organizing.”
Starbucks Workers Unite is continuing to call on the coffee corporation to negotiate a contract with the union that now spans 235 stores — including Locke’s Astoria branch.
As of Aug. 25, Starbucks entered contract negotiations with just three unionized stores, according to Vox.
Union busting is illegal under the National Labor Relations law, and largely overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, but the complaint filed with the city's Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings to prove unjust termination is entirely separate.
“It has nothing to do with whether or not he's union or not union,” employment attorney Carmelo Grimaldi said. ”It has to do with the fact that if you're going to terminate a worker in the fast food industry, you either have economic reasons for doing so or you have just cause.”
“Sometimes there are multiple avenues you can go to if you feel that there are separate violations of the law, It's not like the city is going to go to the National Labor Relations Board or vice versa; one standard is that you are discriminated, you are discharged because of his union activity, the other one is that you have just cause to get rid of him,” he added. “It's not meant to be a crossover.”
Locke, along with several other union leaders from branches across the country, have filed complaints with the NLRB, Vice reported. The union has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the board in addition to hundreds of individual cases against the company.
Starbucks told reporters they “intend to defend against the alleged violations of the city’s just cause law."
Employers and employees can visit nyc.gov/workers or call 311 for more information about the law, and for more information about filing a complaint.
