Starbucks Workers United Files Complaint Opposing Company's Role As “Official Coffee Partner” Of The 2028 Olympics – CoffeeTalk

Starbucks Workers United has filed a complaint with the International Olympic Committee, opposing the company’s role as the “official coffee partner” of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The union claims that Starbucks’ treatment of U.S. workers looking to unionize and bargain a contract, as well as allegations of forced labor abroad, conflict with the Olympic Games’ code of ethics. The 22-page complaint notes findings by federal labor regulators in recent years that the company had unlawfully retaliated against employees, failed to bargain with the union, and took other actions in an “aggressive, unrelenting campaign of intimidation and interference” to discourage workers from exercising their right to organize.

The complaint also cites legal actions filed in April by Brazilian workers and watchdog groups, alleging the company’s supply chain relies on human trafficking and “slavery-like” labor in Brazil, the world’s largest coffee grower. Starbucks, which denies accusations made in the complaint, announced its Olympics partnership last month. As part of the deal, it plans to build a specially-designed coffeehouse in the Olympic and Paralympic villages, and will serve coffee across competition venues, volunteer hubs, and other locations.

Michelle Eisen, a spokesperson for the union and a former Starbucks employee, said the company in negotiations had been “fighting [its] own baristas” and “stonewalling” a union contract. “Until Starbucks starts playing fair… they have no place at the Olympic Games,” Eisen said.

Starbucks maintains that the union is to blame for stalled contract talks by walking away from negotiations in the winter. Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson said that “allegations by Workers United have all previously been debunked and are without merit.” The company denies allegations of forced labor in Brazil and is committed to ethical sourcing.

The union’s complaint also alleges that Starbucks, by lobbying for the Olympics deal, created a possible conflict of interest, because a prominent former member of Starbucks’ board, Mellody Hobson, also serves on the board of LA28, the organizing committee for the Summer Games.

Complaints alleging ethics violations submitted to the International Olympic Committee are analyzed by the committee’s chief ethics and compliance officer, who would either submit the complaint to an independent ethics commission to make a recommendation or inform the person or group that made the complaint that no breach of ethics had been found.

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