The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a ruling that sided with coffee giant Starbucks in its challenge against a lower court's order that it rehire seven employees who had been fired amid a unionization push.
In an 8-1 decision, the justices threw out the lower court's approval of an injunction sought by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that ordered Starbucks to reinstate the workers while the NLRB's administrative case against the coffee chain proceeds.
The case concerned a group of seven workers at a Starbucks in Memphis, Tennessee, whose store became one of the first to unionize in 2022. During their organizing efforts, they allowed a TV news crew into the store after hours to discuss the campaign – which prompted the company to fire the seven workers present, including some who had been on the union-organizing committee.
Workers at the store later voted to join the Workers United union, which filed unfair-labor charges against Starbucks through the NLRB. The agency sought an injunction to reinstate the fired workers, arguing that they had been fired illegally due to their union-organizing efforts, which a district court granted and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld before the case reached the Supreme Court.
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In an opinion authored by Justice Clarence Thomas and joined in full by seven other justices, the Court held that the lower courts had failed to use a four-part test in determining whether to grant the injunction, so the injunction was vacated and remanded for it to be reconsidered.
A Starbucks spokesperson told FOX Business in a statement, "Starbucks believes that our partners are the core of our business, and we are committed to providing everyone who wears the green apron a bridge to a better future."
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"We remain focused on making progress toward our goal of reaching ratified contracts for represented stores this year. Consistent federal standards are important in ensuring that employees know their rights and consistent labor practices are upheld no matter where in the country they work and live," the company added.
Lynne Fox, president of the Workers United union, released a statement saying, "Working people have so few tools to protect and defend themselves when their employers break the law. That makes today's ruling by the Supreme Court particularly egregious. It underscores how the economy is rigged against working people all the way up to the Supreme Court."
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"Starbucks should have dropped this case the day it committed to chart a new path forward with its workers, instead of aligning itself with other giant corporations intent on stifling worker organizing. It's incongruous to want to build a productive, positive relationship with workers and at the same time lead an attack on one of the few mechanisms they have to defend themselves against unscrupulous employers," the statement continued.
Reuters contributed to this report.
