B.C. Labour Relations Board finds Starbucks made threats against pro-union employee

By Canadian Press on February 14, 2025.

VANCOUVER — The B.C. Labour Relations Board says Starbucks wrongfully made “threats of adverse consequences” against an employee for her unionization activity, but found the company had a “legitimate business reason” to close down its only unionized location in Vancouver.

The United Steelworkers Local 2009 made an unfair labour practice complaint against Starbucks for closing the Dunbar Street store less than a year after its workers had been unionized, and for disciplining an employee for “wearing a union T-shirt.”

The board’s decision dated Feb. 11, says Starbucks denied closing the coffee shop over “anti-union animus,” because the company was already considering shutting at the time the union had applied for certification because the lease was expiring and the building was too small.

The board’s ruling says the union had claimed the “objective impact” of closing the Dunbar store “was to dissuade others from unionizing,” but the board rejected the argument, saying Starbucks had a “legitimate” reason to shut it down.

The ruling says a second part of the union’s complaint involved an employee at a Starbucks in Langley, B.C., who had been threatened with discipline for wearing a shirt with a union logo and the slogan “I Support Our Bargaining Team” in October 2023.

The board’s ruling says a manager told the employee things would get “messy” for her if she continued her union activities, and the board found Starbucks had breached the code by making threats and using “coercion or intimidation” to try to dissuade the employee from continuing her union activities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2025.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press