Starbucks Litigation, Work Stoppages Heat Up Organizing Efforts

The campaign to unionize Starbucks Corp. stores across the country has reached a new stage, with federal labor board prosecutors heading into hearings over accusations that the coffee chain violated labor law as workers at a growing number of locations have gone on strike.

National Labor Relations Board judges will hold the first set of hearings this month on alleged unfair labor practices from the ongoing unionizing wave, the agency said. Those June hearings, which involve Starbucks stores in Arizona, California, and Florida, will be followed by proceedings in cases from five other states that will stretch through the summer ...