Cruisin’ for a brew-sin’: SCOTUS to resolve circuit split over unionization at Starbucks

The boiling dispute over the unionization of baristas is heading to the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS). Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) authorizes federal courts to issue preliminary court orders against employers that are allegedly violating federal labor law. This allows the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to seek such extraordinary relief at the outset of a case before the employer can defend itself during the Board’s lengthy administrative process. On January 12, 2024, SCOTUS agreed to clarify what criteria federal courts should use when the NLRB files a court order against an employer.

Background

In January 2022, without authorization and in violation of company policy, employees at a Starbucks location in Memphis invited a news crew into the store after closing time for an interview to express their support for a union. The next day, Starbucks fired seven employees who were involved, and those employees then filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB.

The NLRB asked a federal judge to order Starbucks to reinstate the employees. The court did so, sending the baristas back to their daily grind. The order was upheld by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Starbucks’ appeal