Starbucks Must Offer to Rehire Fired Activists, Judge Rules (2)

Starbucks Corp. has to offer reinstatement to seven fired pro-union employees in Memphis, Tennessee, and must not retaliate against employees who support union organizing, a federal judge ruled.

The firings appear to be illegal in light of evidence the company acted in a discriminatory manner, US District Judge Sheryl Lipman said in an order Thursday.

The decision is a victory for the US National Labor Relations Board, which has been confronting an alleged crackdown by Starbucks on a nationwide unionization push by its workers.

The union Starbucks Workers United has prevailed in elections this year at over 200 of the ...