Now even Starbucks is tossing aside the queer community. I will now paste reporting from the Starbucks Workers United Twitter. I don’t recommend you actually go on that site, the replies are full of blue-check fascists.

spoiler

BREAKING: In the middle of Pride Month, Starbucks BANS Pride decorations in stores across the United States. 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. 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. In union stores, where Starbucks claims they are unable to make “unilateral changes” without bargaining, the company took down Pride decorations and flags anyway - ignoring their own anti-union talking point.

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. 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. True allyship with the LGBTQ+ community is negotiating a union contract that legally locks-in our benefits, our freedom of expression, and ways to hold management accountable.

Starbucks Corporate is denying any change to their policies on Pride this year - but if that were true, why are there countless stories where workers are claiming the opposite? Starbucks partners have been making TikToks about the situation in stores - some going as far back as weeks ago. The company can’t ignore what is obviously a huge shift for this year’s Pride in stores.

  • SpaceDogs
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    1 year ago

    I remember seeing people make posts about the lack of rainbow capitalism.

    Rainbow capitalism is bad and has been critiqued (at least in my circles) every year pride month comes around, but the fact that major companies are backing out of it this year due to the increased controversies (mainly over trans rights) seems to be a predictor of what’s to come. Their words not mine.

    I think it’s an interesting perspective and definitely has weight to it. Companies felt comfortable to commercialize pride since it was technically more favourable but now because of rising anti-LGBTQ (again, mostly targeted at trans people but reflects previous homophobic vitriol) sentiment and legislation they’re pulling back on “support.” Hopefully this will start to show people that these companies never had their best interest in mind and it’s always been about profit. Nothing more.