South Carolina Starbucks workers who were accused of “kidnapping” their boss during a protest have filed a lawsuit accusing the coffee giant of “defamation.” The unionized workers, part of a widespread effort to organize Starbucks stores, say the company “improperly weaponize[d] the legal process” by “falsely accusing them of crimes and seeking to have them arrested.”
The suit, filed on behalf of eight workers at a Starbucks in Anderson, South Carolina, concerns an incident from Aug 1. That day, workers at the store performed a “march on the boss,” a federally protected action in which workers present their boss with a series of demands related to working conditions.
“We are not going to move until some action is taken for our raise. No work is being done on the floor, and no customers are being served,” one worker told the store’s manager, Melissa Morris, in audio published by More Perfect Union on Twitter. Video of the incident was also released by the union, Starbucks Workers United.
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The store manager, Morris, is shown on the video speaking to someone on the phone before asking workers if she can leave the store. “Yes,” worker Neil Tripathi replies.
Two days later, Morris filed a police report accusing the workers of kidnapping, telling cops they “would not let her leave until they got a raise” and that one worker “assaulted” her.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s office questioned workers about the incident, but no charges were filed. Nonetheless, Starbucks suspended 11 workers at the store. In a statement posted to its website, Starbucks said that the store manager “felt threatened and unsafe as the result of conduct by 11 store partners.”
Now, workers, including Tripathi, claim this statement defamed them by insinuating that they “had engaged in criminal activity.” The suit also suggests that Morris, the store manager, made a false police report “in apparent coordination with Starbucks upper management and its counsel.”
In a statement to The Daily Beast, Starbucks said they were reviewing the suit and “look forward to defending the company against the allegations made.” The company also denied retaliating against workers for union involvement.
“No Starbucks partner has been or will be disciplined for supporting or engaging in lawful union activity—but interest in a union does not exempt partners from following policies and procedures that apply to all partners,” the company told The Daily Beast.
Starbucks has engaged high-powered union-busting law firm Littler Mendelsohn to help them fight a wave of organizing at stores across the country. The battle has been ugly, with Starbucks so far firing 129 workers involved in organizing, according to the union. A month after suspending workers at the Anderson store, Starbucks fired six of them permanently.
@sbworkersunited When workers stand up together, workers win. @Starbucks must end their union busting tactics now. #management #unionbusting #uniontok #marchontheboss #southcarolina ♬ original sound - SBWorkersUnited
The union has filed 364 charges against the company with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging unfair practices.
But the suit filed by baristas from South Carolina is the first lawsuit filed by the campaign.
“These workers were called criminals by their manager and by this company, and it was completely unfounded,” said Casey Moore, a member of Starbucks Workers United’s communication committee, “These charges are just holding the company accountable for their actions in whatever way we can.”
Moore says Starbucks has been waging war against the union effort on multiple fronts, firing workers and breaking labor law. The kidnapping charge was just another example of these retaliatory actions, she says.
“It shows the company’s willingness or desire to crush our union in any way that they can,” Moore says.
