STARBUCKS workers in the US state of New York have launched an urgent appeal to help a pro-union whistleblower struggling with leukaemia who was sacked after giving evidence to the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB).
Brittany Harrison was a manager at a Starbucks cafe in Arizona until her contract was terminated after she exposed the global coffee chain’s union-busting efforts.
She learnt that Starbucks was planning to send managers and executives from across the country to the city of Buffalo, where staff at three branches had filed papers seeking union recognition.
The company was desperate to stop workers there from organising collectively and waged a bitter campaign of intimidation, spending millions of dollars to hire a union-busting company.
These efforts failed when workers at the Elmwood cafe in Buffalo became the first in Starbucks’ 50-year history to vote in favour of union representation, a decision that was ratified earlier this month.
Ms Harrison gave testimony at an NLRB hearing in support of the union’s allegation of unfair labour practices.
She said that she did not want herself or her workers to be placed in a position where they were violating the rights of her colleagues in Buffalo.
The company sent an email to all staff, seen by the Morning Star, claiming that reports that Ms Harrison had been sacked were “simply not true.
“Harrison made the personal decision to leave and handed her resignation to us in early November,” the email stated, adding...
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