WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court It made it harder to win court rulings on Thursday when the federal government was suspected of interfering with union campaigns in a case stemming from a labor dispute with a company. Starbucks.
The justices have tightened the standards for when a federal court can decide to protect workers’ jobs during a union organizing campaign.
The court rejected the rule that some courts have invoked in favor of the higher threshold required by the National Labor Relations Board, required by Starbucks, and required in most other fights over injunctions or injunctions.
The NLRB argued that the National Labor Relations Act, the law that governs the agency, has for more than 75 years allowed courts to grant temporary injunctions if they find requests “just and proper.” The agency said the law does not require it to prove other factors and is intended to limit the role of courts.
The lawsuit began in February 2022 when Starbucks launched laid off seven employees Those trying to consolidate Tennessee stores. The NLRB obtained a court order, forcing the company to rehire the workers while the case continues. agency administrative proceedings. Such processes can last up to two years.
A district court judge agreed with the NLRB and granted Starbucks a temporary order in August 2022 to rehire the workers. After the US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision, Starbucks appealed to the Supreme Court.
According to Workers United, the union that organizes Starbucks employees, five of the seven employees still work at the Memphis store, while two others are involved in organizing efforts. The Memphis store voted for the merger In June 2022.
Animosity between them as the case progressed Workers United and Starbucks began to fade. Both sides announced in February that they would resume negotiations for this purpose reaching contractual agreements this year, and they held their first bargaining session in nearly a year at the end of April.
According to the NLRB, workers at 437 company-owned Starbucks stores in the U.S. have voted to unionize starting in late 2021, but none of those stores Signed an employment contract with Starbucks.