Starbucks union lawsuit overview:
- Who: Starbucks Corp. and Workers United have filed lawsuits against each other.
- Why: Starbucks claims Workers United damaged its brand by allegedly improperly using its name and logos in posts allegedly supporting Palestine amidst its ongoing conflict with Israel. Workers United argues Starbucks is defaming it and falsely attacking its reputation in an effort to “bolster its illegal anti-union campaign.”
- Where: The lawsuits were filed in Pennsylvania and Iowa federal courts.
Starbucks Corp. has filed a lawsuit claiming the union representing its baristas damaged the company’s brand by allegedly using its name and logos in posts on X that showed support for Palestine amid its ongoing conflict with Israel.
Starbucks’ lawsuit argues the union, Workers United, has been improperly using the name Starbucks Workers United and using the coffeehouse company’s trademarks without permission while posting support for Palestine, according to Law360.
The company reportedly claims consumers have been misled into thinking it endorses posts supporting Palestine made by Workers United in the wake of a deadly attack by Hamas militants against Israel earlier this month.
Starbucks said it has received hundreds of complaints from customers and other members of the public in the wake of the posts, both “chastising and singling out” Starbucks “for supporting Hamas.”
“Given the accused marks’ similarities to the Starbucks marks, the accused marks are likely to convey to customers a false affiliation, endorsement or sponsorship with Starbucks,” the company said, as reported by Law360.
Workers United claims Starbucks is falsely attacking its reputation
Workers United responded to the accusations by filing its own complaint against Starbucks that seeks declaratory judgment allowing the union to continue to use the Starbucks Workers United name and logo.
The union also accused Starbucks of defaming it by making statements asserting that Workers United supports “terrorism, hate and violence.”
“The company’s statements are a transparent effort to bolster its illegal anti-union campaign by falsely attacking the union’s reputation with workers and the public,” the Workers United lawsuit states.
Starbucks has singled out a post that it alleges Workers United retweeted on the social media platform X of an image of a bulldozer tearing down a border fence between Gaza and Israel with the text “Solidarity with Palestine!” Law360 reports.
The company has also reportedly pointed to several allegedly pro-Palestine posts retweeted by the Iowa City Starbucks Workers United.
Starbucks was also in the news in June after it wrote an open letter clarifying its policy on Pride Month celebrations at its store locations after it received criticism and worker strikes after claims arose that it had been restricting decorations at some of its locations.
Do you believe Workers United is improperly using Starbucks’ name and logo? What do you think of Starbucks’ lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.
The Starbucks union lawsuits are Starbucks Corp. v. Service Employees International Union, et al., Case No. 3:23-cv-00068, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, and Workers United v. Starbucks Corp., et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-04036, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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