Starbucks baristas file brief opposing reinstatement of Biden-Appointed NLRB member

Cortes and Karam work at separate Starbucks locations in Buffalo, NY. In 2023, they each submitted petitions on behalf of their coworkers with sufficient support to prompt NLRB votes to “decertify,” or remove, the Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) union from their stores. However, NLRB officials indefinitely delayed these union decertification elections due to unproven charges against Starbucks Corporation by SBWU union officials. This led Cortes and Karam to file their own federal lawsuit challenging the agency’s structure as unconstitutional.

The issue regarding NLRB’s constitutionality gained traction following President Trump’s firing of Biden-appointed NLRB Board Member Gwynne Wilcox, which she contested as a violation of NLRA’s board member removal protections. Trump Administration lawyers countered with arguments similar to those in Cortes and Karam’s lawsuit, asserting that NLRB members’ removal protections allow them to exercise substantial executive authority while being immune to presidential removal for their term durations—something forbidden by U.S. Supreme Court decisions like Seila Law v. CFPB and Collins v. Yellen.

Cortes and Karam’s brief highlights how the Board’s powers to enforce federal labor law, lack of technical expertise, and partisan nature place it outside Supreme Court concepts where removal protections might be appropriate. It also argues that reinstating Wilcox would cause chaos because she would participate in deciding cases before her continued presence on Board is still subject to litigation.

“Cortes and Karam have a vital interest in this case's outcome...,” says the amicus brief.

“Ms. Cortes' & Mr. Karam’s amicus brief points out what many workers who have litigated before NLRB learned—the hard way—that it's a hyper-partisan agency...” commented National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix. “While this issue will likely end up before Supreme Court ultimately... ”