Starbucks and Workers United, the union organizing its employees, are suing each other in a dispute over social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war.
In a complaint filed Wednesday in federal court in Iowa, Starbucks argued that pro-Palestine posts made by Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) and its affiliates earlier this month have been mistakenly attributed to Starbucks and have hurt its reputation. SBWU is the branch of Workers United working to organize Starbucks employees.
Starbucks asked the court to stop the group from using the name “Starbucks Workers United” and a green circular logo that it says resembles the Starbucks logo. It claimed these marks led people to mistake the union’s posts as a reflection of Starbucks’ own views.
The chain said, for instance, that it has received hundreds of complaints from customers and public figures criticizing the brand for supporting Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, sparking a war in the region. Starbucks has expressed sympathy for innocent victims on both sides of the conflict and said it condemns all “terrorism, hate and violence.”
Workers United responded Wednesday with a lawsuit of its own, asking a federal court in Pennsylvania to allow it to continue using the Starbucks Workers United name and logo—a green circle around an image of a fist holding a cup. It argued that many labor unions use similar names and noted that it has no interest in aligning its identity with the Starbucks corporation.
It also argued that Starbucks defamed the union by implying that it supports terrorism and violence.
The dueling lawsuits center on social media posts made by SBWU and some local affiliates expressing support for Palestine in the days after the conflict began. Starbucks highlighted one Twitter post from SBWU that said “Solidarity with Palestine” above an image of a bulldozer tearing down a fence in Gaza.
In its lawsuit, Workers United said it did not authorize the tweet and that it was deleted within 30 to 40 minutes. It also argued that Starbucks failed to prove that the public was confused about the source of the tweet.
It also accused Starbucks of implying that Workers United supports terror and violence, which it characterized as an effort by Starbucks to harm the union’s reputation. It pointed to the following statement posted on Starbucks’ website on Oct. 11 as an example of the alleged defamation: “We unequivocally condemn these acts of terrorism, hate and violence, and disagree with the statements and views expressed by Workers United and its members,” Starbucks wrote.
The lawsuits cap a days-long standoff over the social media posts. On Friday, Starbucks contacted the union demanding it to stop using the company’s name and logo and issue a correction in light of the many complaints it had received. On Tuesday, the union rejected the request, according to Starbucks, which led the chain to file a lawsuit.
SBWU says it has successfully unionized more than 350 Starbucks stores over the past two years. The chain has opposed the union effort, and the two parties have yet to agree on a contract.
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