D.C. Circuit Presses Starbucks, NLRB in Dispute Over Union Pins

A federal appeals court panel in Washington peppered attorneys for Starbucks Corp. and the US labor board with questions about whether a Seattle cafe manager instituted unlawfully broad rules against handing out union pins.

During oral arguments Friday, the National Labor Relations Board urged the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to uphold the agency’s June 2023 decision against the coffee giant. It’s one of several cases pending before appellate courts and the US Supreme Court in the wake of mounting litigation over the company’s response to unionization efforts nationwide.

The board held that store manager ...