Starbucks Fires Another Union Leader as Fight With Workers Intensifies

Another Starbucks employee who was leading unionization efforts in Buffalo, New York, has reportedly been fired.

Daniel Rojas was terminated at the end of a shift at the Sheridan and Bailey location of the coffee chain on Friday "for violating time and attendance policies that are selectively enforced," according to a GoFundMe page that Rojas set up on Sunday.

"A Starbucks partner of four years, Danny has dealt with Starbucks' extreme anti-union tactics on a daily basis for months," the page says.

"Even when faced with intimidation and surveillance on the job, Danny has fought to make their voice heard and to lift up service workers everywhere.

"Due to the bravery of workers like Danny, well over 100 Starbucks locations around the country have now filed for union elections."

SBWorkersUnited, a Twitter account representing Starbucks employees working to unionize, shared Rojas' fundraiser. "We're organizing for just cause for termination & to make Starbucks accountable to its workers!" the tweet said.

Rojas and Starbucks have been contacted for additional comment.

The termination comes after a Starbucks worker fired from her job at the company's first store to be represented by a union in decades told Newsweek that she believes Starbucks is retaliating against her and others for leading unionizing efforts.

Cassie Fleischer, 25, said she was "effectively terminated" from her job at the Elmwood Avenue location in Buffalo in February as she asked to cut back on her availability after securing another, full-time job.

"Despite Starbucks' efforts to stop the union effort and get rid of union leaders, we are standing strong and will not be deterred," she told Newsweek. "This is not who Starbucks is as a company and we will hold them accountable. We are demanding my reinstatement with back pay and that Starbucks end its war against partners."

Starbucks has long opposed unionization at its stores, saying they function best when the company works directly with employees. But Workers United is now petitioning to represent workers at more than 100 Starbucks locations across the country.

The union said it has filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing Starbucks of retaliating against employees leading union drives.

It has prompted Gen-Z activists to launch a campaign to flood Starbucks with fake job applications in solidarity with Starbucks workers seeking to unionize.

Starbucks last month fired seven employees who were leading an effort to unionize a store in Memphis, Tennessee. The company said the employees had violated policy, while the employees said their firings were in retaliation for their unionization efforts.