Starbucks’ Union Subpoenas Violated Labor Law: NLRB Judge (1)

Starbucks Corp. violated federal labor law by seeking information from workers and union staffers that could be used to identify union supporters and detractors, their organizing activities, and the union’s strategy, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled.

The company must withdraw 20 of the 22 subpoenas it issued and pay individuals’ legal costs to defend against the coffee giant’s illegal information requests, Administrative Law Judge Charles Muhl ordered late May 12. Those 20 were irrelevant to Starbucks’ defense or had an illegal objective, or the workers’ confidentiality interests outweighed the company’s interests in supporting that defense, he held.

The ...