A federal judge in Tennessee has ruled that Starbucks must offer reinstatement to seven workers in Memphis who were fired amid a union organizing drive at their store earlier this year.

The Memphis Seven, as the workers came to be known, lost their jobs after taking part in an in-store interview with a local television station about their union effort. Starbucks maintained it fired the workers because they violated store policy by letting nonemployees into the shop after hours, but the baristas union, Workers United, said the terminations were retaliatory.

The general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board agreed with the union and pursued reinstatement for the workers, on the grounds that their firings were illegal and could irreparably harm their organizing. U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman granted the injunction on Thursday, saying there was reasonable cause to believe the firings were anti-union, and clear evidence they had a chilling effect on the campaign.