Outlook bad for Starbucks’ anti-union lawyers

Image: Starbucks Workers United

Starbucks baristas in upstate New York are trying to join Starbucks Workers United. The legal team hired by the coffee chain to upset the organization of its workers experienced a hiccup due to a software malfunction on February 11th.

The National Labor Relations Board did not receive a dispute from Littler Mendelson on time due to a crash in the firm's Microsoft Outlook.

The organizational voting of several upstate New York stores was halted by the statement of position. The dispute stated that the elections for individual stores would be inappropriate and should instead tally votes on a regional basis. The paperwork needed to be submitted to the NLRB by noon on February 11th, but didn't find its way to the appropriate inbox until 1PM.

The included files were too large and caused Outlook to crash, according to a filing made by Alan I. Model. This argument was countered later in a filing by a labor lawyer employed by Worker's United, who stated that Starbucks shouldn't be able to present its case due to the missed deadline.

Linda M.Leslie, the regional director of the National Labor Relations Board, sided with the union in this matter.

If the statement had been submitted on time, it could have delayed efforts by several weeks. Delaying actions give companies more time to persuade employees to vote against a union.

The fight to unionize continues in part because of Starbucks' anti-union campaigns.

If the store votes for a union, it will join the ranks of two other stores in Buffalo that organized last year and will become part of a growing effort to improve the representation of employee interests with Starbucks.