NLRB Rejects Starbucks’ Settlement With Union Over Maine Workers

The National Labor Relations Board has axed a settlement between Starbucks Corp. and a union representing workers at the coffee chain, ruling that an NLRB judge erred in granting it.

A panel of three Democratic board members unanimously found Wednesday that Administrative Law Judge Charles Muhl abused his discretion in granting a settlement with the coffee giant while the NLRB’s lawyers and Starbucks Workers United opposed it.

The settlement stems from allegations that Starbucks managers enforced workplace policies more strictly for union supporters, resulting in disciplinary action against organizers at stores in Biddeford, Maine in July 2022.

Muhl granted the ...