A union representing Starbucks workers accused java giant of putting profits ahead of safety by requiring Los Angeles-area baristas to report to work despite the fast-spreading wildfires that have devastated several communities.
Starbucks Workers United, which represents staffers at some 500 stores nationwide, posted videos on its official social media channels showing flames raging dangerously close to Starbucks locations in Southern California.
“Starbucks workers in LA are being forced to work in areas impacted by the recent wildfires – even where the air quality is unsafe,” the union wrote on X.
The video clip, posted on Friday, shows a burning building with sirens blaring in the background.
The union said management has insisted stores remain open, claiming that “the community depends on us” — despite some employees being displaced from their homes due to mandatory evacuations.
“Working in unsafe conditions is unacceptable. Profits should NEVER be prioritized over safety,” the union wrote.
The Post has sought clarifications from the union about which specific Starbucks locations were forcing baristas to work.
A Starbucks spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
There are more than 100 Starbucks locations throughout Los Angeles. At least one location on Sunset Boulevard in the hard-hit Pacific Palisades section was destroyed by wildfire.
The charred remains of the coffeehouse were all that was left after fires ravaged through a 100-year-old structure in Palisades Village.
The wildfires, which have claimed at least 24 lives and destroyed more than 12,000 structures, have raised serious concerns about worker safety.
Starbucks Workers United called on the company to provide adequate time off for impacted employees and urged the coffee chain to engage in good-faith negotiations to strengthen workplace safety protections.
The wildfire controversy comes amid renewed tensions between Starbucks and Starbucks Workers United, the union that has organized roughly 500 of the company’s 10,000 corporate-run stores in the US over the past three years.
Last week, the union filed 34 complaints with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing Starbucks of violating federal labor laws in stores across 16 states.
The union accused Starbucks of firing employees in retaliation for union activism.
In response to the complaints, Starbucks spokesperson Phil Gee dismissed the allegations as baseless, telling Bloomberg News: “Taking time to file such claims is a tactic that brings distraction from the progress we could be making.”
Last December, the union accused Starbucks of refusing to negotiate in good faith, leading to a five-day strike at hundreds of locations just before Christmas.