Posts tagged Dress Code
Why new Starbucks dress code prompted over 2,000 baristas to walk out on strike
May 20, 2025 // Starbucks said in its announcement the new design provided a "more defined color palette includes any solid black short and long-sleeved crewneck, collared, or button-up shirts and any shade of khaki, black, or blue denim bottoms" and it's "making a new line of company branded t-shirts available to partners, who will receive two at no cost." What they're saying: A striking barista said in a video posted Thursday to the union's Bluesky account that Starbucks "made a big decision about our jobs without bargaining with us, and this time it's a new restrictive dress code, one that we're paying or out of pocket."
Starbucks union workers strike over dress code changes
May 16, 2025 // The company restricted its dress code to solid black long and short-sleeved shirts, company branded t-shirts and black, khaki or blue denim pants — a significant restriction of its dress rules. The union also filed an amendment to unfair labor practice charges stating the dress code changes “materially differed from both the status quo and what the parties had tentatively agreed to at the bargaining table, thus undermining the Union’s representational status.”
Starbucks announces new barista dress code. Here’s what it looks like
April 17, 2025 // Starting on May 12, the company will require that its workers wear simple colors including any solid black short- or long-sleeved crew-neck, collared or button-up shirts with khaki, black or blue denim bottoms, according to its website. The announcement comes more than a week after Starbucks Workers United, the union representing workers at more than 525 stores across the U.S., sent a letter to the company demanding no dress code changes be implemented at union-represented stores until bargaining is completed.
Opinion: Help! We’re Trapped in a Trader Joe’s Union
October 28, 2024 // But the union hasn’t been what many of our co-workers expected. The officers basically selected themselves. They then delayed negotiations with Trader Joe’s while forfeiting our annual bonus retirement contribution. Amid growing discontent in the store, the two of us attended a bargaining session in February 2023, which the union president invited all crew members to join. We were shocked at what we saw. We thought the union would focus on things that matter, like wages and benefits. Instead, union representatives negotiated over things like “pronoun pins,” which the company already provides. They demanded that Trader Joe’s cover abortion and “gender-affirming care.” The company’s response: The health plan already covers that.
Ban of BLM Apparel by Whole Foods Ruled Legal
December 29, 2023 // Administrative Law Judge Ariel Sotolongo ruled that BLM masks, T-shirts, and other apparel worn by Whole Foods employees during the 2020 riots was not protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act because it had little connection to the Whole Foods workers’ jobs. The NLRB General Counsel, who prosecutes unfair labor practice cases, had argued that workers wore the attire in 2020 to make black coworkers feel safe and supported amid a series of nationwide protests lead by BLM. The general counsel claimed banning the apparel violated workers’ rights to advocate for better working conditions. But Judge Sotolongo said that regardless of individual workers’ motivations, the general counsel failed to show that workers had a collective goal related to their employment.
Starbucks’ ‘overbroad’ workplace civility rule oversteps NLRA, Board rules
August 17, 2023 // On the heels of its Stericycle ruling, which increased scrutiny of employer handbooks, NLRB said Starbucks must rescind its “How We Communicate” workplace policy.
NLRB: Employment Law Update, December 21, 2022
December 26, 2022 // The NLRB's Been Busy We've long previewed the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB's) action on a number of issues, now that Board membership reflects President Biden's appointees and embodies his pro-labor priorities. In recent weeks, we've seen several updates come through from the agency, including