A Starbucks location in Portland is closing less than a month after workers there voted to unionize.
According to our info partners at CBS 13, the company said in a statement on Tuesday the location at the intersection of Exchange and Middle streets in the city’s old port is closing. The nationwide coffee chain said they reviewed the store for whether or not “the store was thriving, the workers felt supported, and whether customers felt their needs were met”. Starbucks says the store’s last day will be Dec. 23rd. They said they will bargain with the union in good faith, including job transfers to other stores.
Maine congresswoman Chellie Pingree accused the company of union-busting and called for an investigation by the national labor relations board. you can read the tweet here:
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 prohibits “The denial by some employers of the right of employees to organize and the refusal by some employers to accept the procedure of collective bargaining lead to strikes and other forms of industrial strife or unrest, which have the intent or the necessary effect of burdening or obstructing commerce by (a) impairing the efficiency, safety, or operation of the instrumentalities of commerce; (b) occurring in the current of commerce; (c) materially affecting, restraining, or controlling the flow of raw materials or manufactured or processed goods from or into the channels of commerce, or the prices of such materials or goods in commerce; or (d) causing diminution of employment and wages in such volume as substantially to impair or disrupt the market for goods flowing from or into the channels of commerce”.
For more information on the National Labor Relations Board, click here. To read the original CBS 13 article click here.