Starbucks employee challenges NLRB decision blocking union decertification vote

Alyssa K. Hazelwood | Staff Attorney (2016-Present) | NRTWLD&EF, Inc

By Sky Industry News

Nov 20, 2024

Starbucks employee Amy Smith has requested a review from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C. She is contesting a regional NLRB decision that blocked her petition for an election to remove the Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) union from her Oklahoma City store. Smith, who works at the Nichols Hills Starbucks location, is represented by attorneys from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

Smith's appeal challenges the regional NLRB's refusal to reinstate her decertification petition. The regional board has maintained its stance despite resolving SBWU union officials' charges against Starbucks, which initially justified blocking the vote. Smith argues that this decision contradicts federal labor law, which allows workers to promptly have an election to remove an unwanted union.

In October 2023, Smith filed a petition with enough coworker signatures to meet the 30% threshold required for a decertification vote. However, following SBWU officials' request, the NLRB dismissed these petitions "subject to reinstatement" until resolving an unfair labor practice case involving Starbucks Corporation (01-CA-305952). This case has since been settled and closed by the NLRB.

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Last month, Smith requested that Region 14 of the NLRB reinstate her petition to schedule a secret ballot election. Instead of doing so, regional officials cited another unfair labor practice case against Starbucks to block the election again without allowing Smith a hearing.

The Request for Review states: “This standard has proved not only to contradict the plain text of [federal labor law], but has failed to appropriately account for the Board’s statutory mandate to conduct an election.”

Oklahoma's status as a Right to Work state means union payments are voluntary and cannot be mandatory employment conditions. However, under federal law, SBWU officials can still impose a union contract on all employees at the store. A successful decertification vote would remove this monopoly bargaining power.

There is growing momentum among Starbucks employees seeking decertification votes across various stores. Over four years, there has been more than a 50% increase in such petitions filed annually. National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys have assisted employees in over a dozen stores in their efforts against SBWU representation. Union officials have used federal labor law procedures thus far to prevent any decertification votes.

Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation, stated: “Employees like Amy Smith should have the fundamental right to decide who represents them in the workplace, free from unnecessary delays and bureaucratic roadblocks.” He further criticized the NLRB’s actions as disregarding employee free choice principles and emphasized his commitment to defending workers’ rights.