(Reuters) – A Congressional committee issued a subpoena to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that employees of the labor body mishandled union elections at Starbucks Corp cafes in ways that favored unionizing workers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing a letter.
The report added the House Committee on Education and the Workforce asked a regional NLRB official to provide documents as to whether the labor body improperly influenced at least one Starbucks election.
The top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, Virginia Foxx, wrote that she believes the NLRB has communications and documents outlining alleged misconduct in Starbucks elections, the report said.
Foxx is seeking documents on the matter and has requested that the NLRB official provide the documents to the committee on March 29, the Journal reported, citing the subpoena.
Starbucks, NLRB, the Starbucks Workers United and GOP did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Employees at more than 280 of Starbucks’ roughly 9,000 company-operated U.S. locations have voted to join a labor union since 2021 seeking better pay and benefits, improved health and safety conditions and protections against unfair dismissal and discipline.
Starbucks workers have also filed more than 500 charges against the company with the NLRB, which has ordered the company to reinstate 22 fired employees including some union supporters.
The company has also filed more than 100 charges against the union.
(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
