Federal labor officials are calling on Starbucks to reopen nearly two dozen locations — including one that closed last year in Portland — alleging that the company illegally shut them down because workers were organizing.
Starbucks closed down the store on Middle Street in Portland's Old Port late last year, shortly after employees there certified a union.
The company claimed the closure was unrelated to the union. But in a complaint issued this week, a regional office of the National Labor Relations Board alleges that the closures of several locations were due to employee organizing, which it says constitutes violations of labor law.
The complaint calls for Starbucks to immediately reopen 23 stores, and would also have to offer jobs back to former employees and compensate them for any loss of earnings
The case could go before an administrative law judge next summer.
