Starbucks has settled an unfair labor practice charge filed by a fired Portland barista. Hannah Fredrickson, 22, was fired Dec. 17 from her $11.79-an-hour job at the Starbucks on 10112 NE Halsey St. — several weeks after she stood up for the right of her and co-workers to take breaks and to have a properly stocked first aid kit.
Fredrickson’s workers’ rights activism began when she heard a program on Oregon Public Broadcasting about unions, and then wrote a paper about organized labor for a writing class at Mt. Hood Community College. She learned online about efforts by the Industrial Workers of the World to unionize at Starbucks, expressed sympathy for that on Facebook, and was fired soon after.
Fredrickson filed the charges Feb. 25. The NLRB investigated and issued a complaint June 29. Soon after, the company settled. Fredrickson was represented by Lake Oswego attorney Jon Egan.
Under the terms, Fredrickson can talk about the case, but is barred from revealing the amount of the settlement. But the NLRB’s formula for such cases — lost compensation, minus wages in the interim — puts it in the range of $10,000 to $15,000.The settlement also bars Fredrickson from applying at any Starbucks in the future.
“I’m okay with that,” Fredrickson told the Labor Press. “I don’t think I’d ever work with that company again.”
She’s since been hired at Green Beans Coffee and Tea at 2327 East Burnside Street.
[…] On the other hand, union-busting also went on all year long at employers all over, with union supporters fired at Rogue Ales, Dosha Salon Spa, MetroWest Ambulance, Grange Cooperative, Georgia-Pacific, and numerous other employers. A local Starbucks barista, fired after wearing union pins, got a $10,000+ settlement. […]