
Mandie Candtrell, the Leader in the Unionization Effort at Starbucks on Exchange Street in the Old Port of Portland
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D) this afternoon called on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to investigate Starbucks for blatant union busting tactics according to a press release received from her office this afternoon. Pingree issued the following statement after Starbucks announced it would be closig a Portland location that voted to unionize in October 2022.
“Starbucks decision to close one of its busiest stores in Portland less than a month after workers formed a union appears to be a brazen violation of the National Labor Relations Act. The widepread practice of large multi-billion-dollar corporations punishing workers who collectively bargain is despicable. They must be held accountable. That’s why in early October, I joined 30 of my House colleagues in urging Starbucks to support and embrace workers legally-organizing at their stores. I received a response from Starbucks saying the Fortune 500 company remains committed to good faith negotiation and satisfing all collective bargaining obligations. Today we can confirm that was just lip service. The NLRB must investigate and protect workers in Maine and across the country.”
Pingree met with workers from the Exchange Street store in Portland just days before they officially formed a union on October 18, 2022.
For more background information on the uionization of the Exchange Street Starbucks Coffee, please visit two posts dated October 17, 2022 and one post dated August 18, 2022 herein.