Starbucks ordered to rehire and refund fired union leader

A federal judge ruled that a Starbucks employee in Colorado was wrongfully fired for forming a union, requiring her reinstatement, payment, and an apology.

A federal administrative judge ruled that a Starbucks employee in Colorado had been wrongfully fired for forming a union, and the coffee giant was compelled to not only reinstate the employee but also pay her back and send an apologetic letter.

Alendra 'Len' Harris, a barista at Starbucks, claims that she is validated by Judge Ira Sandron's decision. She claims that the finding supports the hundreds of similar claims made by other Starbucks employees nationwide who have formed unions to seek better wages and working conditions.

There are now almost 400 unionized Starbucks locations, up from 300 during the summer, but none of them had contracts as of Tuesday.

Harris was the one who initially advocated for this Starbucks to become unionized, even though the Superior location had already voted to unionize in April 2022. Harris was wrongfully terminated, an administrative judge declared yesterday.

Harris was wrongfully fired by Starbucks in November 2022, according to a federal administrative judge of the National Labor Relations Board, which is in charge of managing union elections, claims of worker intimidation, and other labor-related matters. This decision was made this week.

Harris alleges that after the Superior location's employees successfully unionized in early 2022 for better pay and working conditions, a temporary manager began firing employees.

Harris, despite having no previous infractions, was given a final notice in 2022 for allegedly mishandling the store's safe.