SEATTLE — With Pride Month underway, Starbucks workers are accusing their company of taking down LGBTQ-themed decorations.
Starbucks tells KIRO 7 it has not changed its policy, but the workers’ union claims it’s happening in 21 states.
Starbucks Workers United claims the decorations are being removed due to safety concerns, but Starbucks says that’s false information.
At a Kent Starbucks, we saw a Pride flag inside the store Wednesday morning, and we haven’t heard of any reports of decorations being taken down in Washington.
However, Starbucks Workers United posted a TikTok video that appears to show workers taking down Pride decorations at a store in Wisconsin.
In a tweet, one state lawmaker in Wisconsin also accused the company of alienating customers.
“Between this and your union busting, good luck with our customer base. You don’t deserve us,” it said, in part.
Workers in Oklahoma also claim they were told not to decorate for safety reasons after bomb threats were made against Target stores, which have faced backlash for selling Pride merchandise.
Target already removed some of the items, but Starbucks claims it is not changing anything.
Starbucks told us it is “deeply concerned by the false information that is being spread,” but Starbucks Workers United accused the company of “taking a cue from Target.”
We obtained an internal memo that went out to all North American Starbucks corporate and retail leaders.
It says stores are still allowed to decorate for Pride, while also “keeping in mind our safety standards.”
Starbucks claims it is unaware of any stores banning decorations related to Pride Month, and says the only place that any decorations are not allowed is on front windows.
The company has four decades of being a LGBTQ-friendly business and has a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
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