Posts Tagged: UFCW Local 1500

A NLRB Regional Director found merit to the ULP filed by UFCW Local 1500 that eight Mrs. Green’s Natural Market workers were illegally fired for trying to have a union voice on the job.

After an internal investigation by a Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Director found merit to UFCW Local 1500’s unfair labor practice charges alleging that Mrs. Green’s Natural Market unlawfully terminated eight employees because they supported having a union voice on the job.

The Regional Director also revoked a previous settlement of unfair labor practices (November 2013) between UFCW Local 1500, the NLRB, and Mrs. Green’s. In that settlement, Mrs. Green’s agreed to cease their anti-union conduct, promising to create a safe, intimidation-free work environment for the workers. The company also agreed to post a notice in their store for 60 days that informed all employees of their basic rights at work, including the right to form and organize a union.

In a complete disrespect for the settlement with the government and workers’ rights, during a one week span in January, Mrs. Green’s abruptly fired eight leading union supporters, some of whom had met with local politicians about their campaign. The company then removed the required notice from the walls of their store prior to the end of the 60-day period.

A Federal Labor Complaint was then issued against Mrs. Green’s, alleging that Mrs. Green’s violated the law when it terminated union supporters. The trial will be heard before an Administrative Law Judge of the NLRB in July.

“We’re confident that we will receive justice,” said David Ramirez who worked at Mrs. Green’s in Mt. Kisco, New York, for nearly ten years until he was fired this January, “We could not have gotten this far and received this decision without the support from UFCW Local 1500 members and the Mt. Kisco community, who have walked the picket line with us during a cold winter. That meant a lot to all of us and gave us support and energy to continue to hold strong and fight for our rights,” said Ramirez.

UFCW Local 1500 is urging the company to reinstate all unlawfully fired workers. Since January, the fired workers have received an outpouring of support from community and politicians who have called for a boycott of the store. The picket line remains up at 666 Lexington Ave. Mt. Kisco, NY. Last week, days after the federal complaint was issued and after 18 months on the job, Mrs. Green’s parent company, Natural Market Food Group CEO Robin Michel was ousted.

Updates on the workers and the case can be found at ufcw1500.org/greenismean.

New York UFCW members traveled to Albany to lobby on issues important to working families such as raising the minimum wage, paid sick leave and preserving the Wage Theft Prevention Act.

UFCW locals representing workers across New York traveled to the State Capitol in Albany today to lobby on issues important to working families. Members and staff from UFCW Locals 1, 1500, and 2013, along with RWDSU Locals 338 and 1102 were in attendance.
A major focus of the lobby day was to push back against efforts to cut the Wage Theft Prevention Act, which took effect in April of 2011. The law requires that employers give workers written notice of wage rates once a year, a provision some Senate Republicans are targeting for repeal. UFCW members made it clear that wage theft is a serious problem and all workers have the right to know if they are being cheated out of earned wages. They called for the Wage Theft Prevention Act to be strengthened, not weakened, by repealing the written notice requirement.
Members also discussed the need to raise the minimum wage and pass paid sick leave legislation. If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation, it would be over $10 an hour today, but instead it sits at only $8.00 in New York. Members demanded that the minimum wage be raised to a living wage.
Members lobbied for statewide paid sick leave, building on the momentum of legislation passed in New York City. They stressed that no worker should be forced to risk their job and their livelihood just because they get sick. Members said providing paid sick leave would make every workplace healthier and more productive.
Finally, members told their legislators it was long past time to pass the Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act, which would include farmworkers under state labor law. This would guarantee that New York’s farmworkers have the right to organize and bargain collectively for the wages and benefits that they deserve. UFCW members understand that all workers must be afforded their fundamental rights.
The lobby day was a great success and members who took part spoke about the importance of meeting directly with their legislators.
“Lobbying is an important way to remind these elected officials who they work for,” said UFCW Local 1500 member John Kubinski, who works at ShopRite in Staten Island. “If we don’t tell them what we want then they cannot properly represent us.”