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Were downtown Madison Starbucks employees required to take down Pride month decor?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
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YES

Starbucks district and regional managers asked employees at two branches in downtown Madison to remove decorations celebrating LGTBQ+ pride, according to an employee union and workers. 

Management told workers at the Capitol Square location that the removal was designed to have more uniform decorations among stores. Employees at the State Street location were told that the decorations could offend clientele.

A national Starbucks spokesman said in statements to multiple outlets that the company had "no change to any policy" related to Pride displays and that it offered local store leaders some discretion over decor choices.

Starbucks Workers United — an organization representing union members from around the country — has drawn attention to similar incidents this year in which managers barred Pride decorations in other states including Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Virginia.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Starbucks denies ban on Pride decor reported by employees at 2 Madison stores and the national union
New York Times Starbucks is under scrutiny over removal of Pride decorations
TMJ4 News Starbucks workers upset, say stores won't allow Pride decorations
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.