The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has rejected Starbucks’ challenge to a ruling that required them to rehire the Memphis Seven. The employees were originally fired for attempting to organize a union, which was publicized by a media event.
“The record contains sufficient evidence to support the district court’s order of temporary injunctive relief as necessary to return the parties to the status quo pending resolution of the Board’s proceedings. We affirm the judgement of the district court,” circuit judges said in the conclusion.
Court documents state that the employees were originally fired in February of 2022 for the following reasons:
- Being in the store while off duty
- Entering the back-of-house or counter area while off duty
- Unlocking a locked door to allow an unauthorized person to enter while off duty
- Activating the safe and handling cash while off duty
- Supervising while these offenses were being committed.
A federal judge had ordered that the seven employees be reinstated in August of 2022. However, Starbucks challenged this ruling.
According to court documents, Workers United “filed an action with the National Labor Relations Board, charging that Starbucks’ firing of the Memphis Seven, and other anti-union actions, violated section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act.”
Not only did the court conclude that Starbucks had violated the act, but that the reinstatement of the employees was “just and proper.”
“The Act provides that [e]mployees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining,” the court documents stated.
The court also stated that “fear of retaliation” would exist unless the workers were reinstated.