Starbucks asks labour board to halt union votes temporarily at US cafes

The Seattle coffee giant said regional office made special arrangements for pro-union workers to vote in person at its office, even though store election was supposed to be handled by mail-in ballot

Starbucks is asking the National Labour Relations Board to temporarily suspend all union elections at its US stores in response to allegations of improper coordination between regional NLRB officials and the union.

In a letter sent on Monday to the NLRB, Starbucks said an unnamed government official told the company about numerous issues in the NLRB's St. Louis office while it was overseeing an election at a Starbucks store in Overland Park, Kansas, earlier this spring.

The Seattle coffee giant said the regional office made special arrangements for pro-union workers to vote in person at its office, even though the store election was supposed to be handled by mail-in ballot.

Starbucks said regional officials also disclosed confidential information to the union, including which ballots had arrived in the mail to be counted.

An email message seeking comment was left on Monday with the NLRB.

More than 220 US Starbucks stores have voted to unionise since late last year. The company opposes the unionisation effort.