SEATTLE — The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is accusing Starbucks of illegally closing locations to deter union organizing.
The federal agency wants the company to reopen 23 locations, including seven in Seattle and one in Everett.
Starbucks denies wrongdoing, saying the company firmly believes the allegations lack merit.
The independent federal agency issued a complaint Wednesday. The NLRB is seeking an order that would require the company to reopen the locations and compensate workers who lost pay as a result.
In a statement, Mari Cosgrove, a Seattle Starbucks employee and member of Starbucks Workers United said: "This complaint is the latest confirmation of Starbucks' determination to illegally oppose workers' organizing."
In a statement, Sara Trilling, executive vice president and president of Starbucks North America, said, “in support of our Reinvention Plan, and as part of our ongoing efforts to transform our store portfolio, we continue to open, close and evolve our stores as we assess, reposition and strengthen our store portfolio."
In 2022, Starbucks opened 437 new stores and closed 116 stores across the U.S., of which approximately 3% were unionized, according to the company.
Starbucks said four of the eight stores that closed in western Washington were represented by Workers United.
Last month across the country, including in Seattle, Starbucks workers walked off the job.
“It is just absolutely miserable, and we are never staffed properly,” said one worker. “It just makes it really hard to do our jobs, let alone to the quality we would like to do without getting injured."
An independent review found no evidence of Starbucks using an “anti-union playbook,” but also stated that the company should “embrace a constructive relationship with Workers United, building on recent outreach to resume contract bargaining.”
The case will eventually be heard by an administrative judge. Starbucks said it plans to defend the company’s business decisions.