Dozens of Starbucks corporate employees signed a petition letter on Wednesday calling on the company to reverse its return to office hybrid work policy, as well as commit to allowing stores to unionize across the country.
The letter — first reported by Bloomberg and later shared to Twitter by Starbucks Workers United, the union that has organized hundreds of Starbucks stores — was signed by over 40 employees and endorsed by another 22 who wished to remain anonymous.
"An unforeseen and poorly planned 'return to office' mandate is making our lives more difficult, prioritizing corporate control over productivity, diversity & inclusion, and individual job satisfaction, effectively reducing our ability to positively impact store partner experience," the letter reads.
Months after Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said he was pleading with employees to return to the office, the executive ultimately announced a policy in January requiring employees "within commuting distance" to return to the office at least three days per week.
The Wednesday petition came on the same day that Sen. Bernie Sanders announced plans to hold a vote on whether to subpoena Schultz to testify before Congress on allegations that Starbucks has intimidated and fired pro-union employees as the organization effort has grown across the country.
A Starbucks spokesperson declined to comment to Insider on the contents of the letter, but confirmed it has been received by members of the company's leadership.
The return to office policy and alleged union busting is "fracturing trust in Starbucks leadership," the letter states. The letter makes official requests for the company to reverse the return to office policy and "commit to a policy of neutrality and respect federal labor laws."
Starbucks has repeatedly denied allegations of anti-union activity, and maintains it has not violated any labor laws. However, a recent ruling from the National Labor Relations Board found the company committed multiple violations, including in at least one instance at a Philadelphia store location.
A judge in Michigan last week briefly ordered that Starbucks was not allowed to fire any workers involved in unionization activities, but later rescinded and altered the decision to apply to just one location in Michigan.
Starbucks is the latest major US company to face issues over its return to office policy, joining employees at corporations like Amazon and Disney who have also raised concerns and debated about the merits of such mandates in recent weeks.
