TheQuartering [3/14/2023]
Starbucks blasted recent “false” claims alleging that the global coffee company ordered stores across the United States to remove LGBTQ Pride flags on display under threat of conservative backlash.
After a Twitter account for a Starbucks employee union tweeted Tuesday that Starbucks decided to ban Pride Month decorations in many of its U.S. stores, the company denied the claim in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
The company called the claim “false information,” said it was “deeply concerned” by the spread of the false allegations and re-pledged its commitment to the LGBTQ community.
The claim that Starbucks was removing pride items from stores came from the “Starbucks Workers United” Twitter account. The account, run by the union of the same name, announced, “BREAKING: In the middle of Pride Month, Starbucks BANS Pride decorations in stores across the United States.”
The union account followed the announcement with a lengthy Twitter thread detailing the situation. “For the last two weeks, Starbucks workers have taken to social media to report that the company is no longer allowing Pride decorations in-store. This seems to be the first year the publicly ‘pro-LGBTQ+’ company has taken this kind of stance,” it continued.
A subsequent post cited conservative backlash against pro-LGBTQ Target products as part of the motivation for the decision, stating, “Taking a cue from Target, who bowed to anti-LGBTQ+ pressure and removed pride merchandise, corporate and district management are taking down the pride decorations that have become an annual tradition in stores.”
The union then blasted the company’s management, stating, “Starbucks is powered by many queer workers, but management has failed to materially support the LGBTQ+ community. Last October, some workers have reported that their transgender benefit plan changed, causing them to pay out of pocket fees and lose access to certain providers.”
It also claimed, “If Starbucks was a true ally, they would stand up for us, especially during a time when LGBTQ+ people are under attack. A company that cares wouldn’t turn their back on the LGBTQ+ community to protect their already astronomically high profits.”