Starbucks loses appeal, will rehire 7 fired Memphis workers

A group of fired Starbucks employees celebrate the result of a vote to unionize one of the coffee company's locations on June 7, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn. Starbucks says it will reinstate seven employees who were fired in February after leading an effort to unionize their Memphis store. The seven will get their jobs back after the Seattle-based coffee giant lost an appeal of a lower court’s order to reinstate them. Starbucks says the workers violated company policy by reopening the store after closing time and inviting a television crew inside. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz, File) A group of fired Starbucks employees celebrate the result of a vote to unionize one of the coffee company's locations on June 7, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn. Starbucks says it will reinstate seven employees who were fired in February after leading an effort to unionize their Memphis store. The seven will get their jobs back after the Seattle-based coffee giant lost an appeal of a lower court’s order to reinstate them. Starbucks says the workers violated company policy by reopening the store after closing time and inviting a television crew inside. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz, File)

By DEE-ANN DURBIN / AP Business Writer September 7, 2022 2 min read

Starbucks said Wednesday it will reinstate seven employees who were fired in February after leading an effort to unionize their Memphis store.

The seven will get their jobs back after the Seattle-based coffee giant lost an appeal of a lower court’s order to reinstate them.

Starbucks said the employees violated company policy by reopening the store after closing time and inviting non-employees — including a television crew — to come inside.

But the National Labor Relations Board disagreed with Starbucks’ action, saying it was interfering with workers’ right to organize, and it asked a federal court in Memphis to intervene. Last month, a federal judge ordered Starbucks to reinstate the workers within five days while the court considers the labor board’s lawsuit.

Starbucks appealed, but late Tuesday, a three-judge panel for the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the lower court, ruling that Starbucks “did not show a likelihood of success” in challenging the lower court’s ruling.