Labor group sues Starbucks, saying it ignores slave-like conditions for workers in Brazil

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A labor rights group sued Starbucks on Thursday, alleging that it sourced coffee from a major cooperative in Brazil whose member farms were cited for keeping workers in slave-like conditions.

International Rights Advocates filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington on behalf of eight Brazilian coffee farm workers.

The lawsuit alleges that Starbucks violated U.S. trafficking laws by continuing to buy coffee from Cooxupe even after Brazilian authorities repeatedly cited the cooperative for trafficking and forced labor violations.

The plaintiffs — who were not named in the lawsuit because International Rights Advocates said they fear retribution — allege they were lured to farms with the promise of good pay and working conditions. But instead, they were put in filthy housing and the cost of their transportation, food and equipment was deducted from their pay.

“Consumers are paying obscene amounts for a cup of Starbucks coffee that was harvested by trafficked slaves,” said International Rights Advocates founder Terry Collingsworth, who is representing the plaintiffs. “It is time to hold Starbucks accountable for profiting from human trafficking.”

Starbucks said Thursday that the lawsuit’s claims are without merit.

The company said it only purchases coffee from a small fraction of Cooxupe’s 19,000 coffee farm members. All of Starbucks’ coffee comes from farms whose labor and environmental practices meet the company’s standards, it said. Starbucks said its verification program was developed by outside experts and includes regular third-party audits.

“Starbucks is committed to ethical sourcing of coffee including helping to protect the rights of people who work on the farms where we purchase coffee from,” the company said in a statement.

Cooxupe said Thursday that it was not part of the lawsuit and doesn’t have access to it.

Dee-Ann Durbin is an AP Business Writer.

Associated Press Writer Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo contributed.