Starbucks sues Workers United union over pro-Palestinian post
Starbucks sued the union organizing its workers Wednesday, saying a pro-Palestine social media post from a union account early in the IsraelHamas war angered hundreds of customers and damaged its reputation.
Starbucks is suing for trademark infringement, demanding that Workers United stop using the name Starbucks Workers United for the branch that is organizing the coffee company’s workers. Starbucks also wants the group to stop using a circular green logo that resembles Starbucks’s logo.
On Oct. 9, two days after Hamas militants rampaged across communities in southern Israel, Starbucks Workers United posted “Solidarity with Palestine!” on X, formerly known as Twitter. Workers United — a Philadelphia-based affiliate of the Service Employees International Union — has said the post was up for no more than 40 minutes before it was deleted.
But posts and retweets from local Starbucks Workers United branches supporting Palestinians and condemning Israel were still visible on X Wednesday. Seattle-based Starbucks filed its lawsuit in US District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, noting that Iowa City Starbucks Workers United was among those posting proPalestinian messages.
In a letter sent to Workers United on Oct. 13, Starbucks demanded that the union stop using its name and similar logo. In its response, Workers United said Starbucks Workers United’s page on X clearly identifies it as a union.
Starbucks said it received more than 1,000 complaints about the union’s post. The Seattle-based coffee giant said workers had to face hostile customers and received threatening phone calls. Vandals spray-painted Stars of David and a swastika on the windows of a Rhode Island store.
Some lawmakers, including Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida, called for boycotts of Starbucks.
“If you go to Starbucks, you are supporting killing Jews,” Florida state Representative Randy Fine, a Republican, tweeted on Oct. 11.
Starbucks’ official statements on the war have expressed sympathy for innocent victims in both Israel and Gaza.
“Starbucks unequivocally condemns acts of hate, terrorism, and violence,” Starbucks executive vice president Sara Kelly wrote in a letter to employees last week.
Workers United hasn’t issued its own statement. But its parent, the SEIU, said Tuesday that it has many members with family on both sides of the conflict and believes “all Israelis and Palestinians deserve safety, freedom from violence, and the opportunity to thrive.”