Anti-union scent in air at Fresh Direct? Teamsters fight to unionize online grocery s

[mudflap560]

Albor Ruiz - NY Local

"It will be quite a battle," said Sandy Pope, the president of Teamsters Local 805, referring to an attempt by employees of online grocer Fresh Direct to join the union.

The Teamsters and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 342 launched a public campaign this week to focus attention on the workers' struggle to organize.

Last month, Pope said, the company refused a union request to remain neutral so that workers could organize.

"They said 'absolutely not,'" Pope added.

The response recalls painful memories of the first attempt by Fresh Direct employees to join the Teamsters Union in 2007. It turned out to be a veritable massacre. Some 300 immigrant workers, out of a total of 900, lost their jobs.

Company bosses initiated an intimidation campaign, complete with misleading anti-union literature and the firing of two pro-union workers, Pope said.

Even worse, Fresh Direct is suspected of having alerted U.S. Immigration and Customs agents about their undocumented workers days before the election. Not surprisingly, the union lost.

Read more: Anti-union scent in air at Fresh Direct? Teamsters fight to unionize online grocery site's workers

[slavenomore]

Albor Ruiz - NY Local




Read more: Anti-union scent in air at Fresh Direct? Teamsters fight to unionize online grocery site's workers

What scum...
"Even worse, Fresh Direct is suspected of having alerted U.S. Immigration and Customs agents about their undocumented workers days before the election. Not surprisingly, the union lost.

The whole ICE incident hangs over the company's reputation like a dark cloud, even though Fresh Direct insists it was just an unhappy coincidence.

"[That we called ICE] is one of the most frustrating things to hear about," said Jim Moore, a Fresh Direct senior vice president. "It was a horrible time, some of the people who lost their jobs had been with us from the beginning; they were loyal employees. It was very sad, and we had nothing to do with it," Moore said."


We had nothing to do with it.....How can they even think that anybody would believe that.....So it's OK for the illegals to work there as slaves but they call immigration when they may want some rights...All illegals should see this..Scum of the earth company...Not only should they be closed down (don't worry employees,if the business exists the "product will just move elsewhere hopefully someplace with more class)....but any management or company officials who knew of the illegals working there should be arrested and taken to court for knowing of it and fined or jailed.

[222lifer]

Scumbag business practices are the up swing. It is now a status quo to be "on the outs" with the INS. Your peers will tout your savy business smarts for hiring illegal's and firing them to avoid unionization or another pay raise.