TROUBLE BREWING

Starbucks Denies Telling Baristas to Remove Pride Flags From Stores

In a statement the company said the claims were “false information.” However, union officials say stores in twenty-one states have been told to remove Pride decorations.

Starbucks has denied instructing workers in at least twenty-one states to remove Pride flags and decorations from stores. The claims were first made in a Twitter thread by the union Starbucks Workers United (SBWU). The union said baristas at multiple stores had reported being told to remove Pride paraphernalia. Casey Moore, a spokesperson for SBWU told The Daily Beast that workers in Oklahoma were informed “it was a safety issue related to the recent attacks on Target,” while in Massachusetts, workers were advised “they didn’t have any labor hours to decorate for Pride.” Starbucks workers at a store in Madison, Wisconsin posted on Instagram yesterday that their district manager had torn down their Pride decorations because they weren't “welcoming for everyone.” Starbucks described the union’s claims as “false information.” “We unwaveringly support the LGBTQIA2+ community,” a Starbucks spokesperson told The Daily Beast, “There has been no change to any policy on this matter and we continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their communities including for U.S. Pride month in June.”