Working the Fields

Labor practices called into question at a Whole Foods supermarket.

by Dan Keashen

Two former employees of the Whole Foods Market at 10th and South streets have charged the supermarket with unfair labor violations, leading to a protest last month. One says she was fired because she stood up for a co-worker who had his hours cut after an injury they say was sustained on the job.

"I believe I was set up by management because my fellow co-workers were in agreement to help each other out, and they saw us as a possible labor-union threat," explains Priscilla Cummings, the produce-department employee who recently lost her job.

As employees have been discussing the prospect of unionizing, a peaceful demonstration including some Whole Foods patrons was staged at the store on June 12.

According to fliers handed out at the demonstration, Rolando Ong had severely strained his wrist last August while handling four boxes of organic apples in a cooler at the supermarket. The three-time employee of the month was sent to a Whole Foods doctor whose diagnosis asserted that Ong hadn't sustained the injury while working; rather the flier states Ong was told that it was a pre-existing condition. When he returned to work later that month — having used up much of his annual vacation time — the store's produce manager slashed his hours, according to the flier and documents from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

According to the NLRB claim filed by Ong, Whole Foods management said Ong's hours were cut due to a drop in store profits. But the remaining eight workers in produce were still working their regular 40-hour work weeks.

Three months later, the claim states, Ong spoke to a pair of managers about the discrepancy. He says he was told that he would be terminated if he spoke to any co-workers about his workplace problems.

"It was a ridiculous threat that had a fascist context to it," says one Whole Foods employee, speaking on condition of anonymity. The employee added that co-workers then asked to cut their hours so Ong could work a full schedule.

"We needed to take a stand for ourselves and show management we were willing to sacrifice for each other," Cummings says.

They rallied around Ong and helped him find labor representation with Asian Americans United, a nonprofit Asian advocacy group that then filed charges against Whole Foods in late November. The National Labor Relations Board sent the case to court, but the sides reached a settlement in March, in which the company was forced to remove all disciplinary charges from Ong's file.

"A settlement out of court in no way suggests guilt," says Sarah Kenney, Whole Foods' regional marketing

director. "We were sad to see it come down to an actual case and not have the ability to fix the problem through our usual team channels."

When reunited after Thanksgiving, employees said the workplace atmosphere had changed. Workers said they were insulted and reprimanded for, among other things, not asking permission to go to the bathroom.

"They started playing head games with us after Rolando was back to normal, and we really didn't have anyone to turn to except each other," says Cummings, who filed charges of her own in April.

Cummings, who describes herself as a lifelong vegetarian who was enamored by the idea of a grocery store that provided organic and earth-friendly alternatives, says she enjoyed coming to work every day and participating in an alternative venture.

But, she says, "From the time of the case settlement, I was harassed, disciplined and pushed around by management. I thought they were looking for any excuse to fire me."

That excuse, Cummings says, was found when she arrived late for her shift on April 22. She says employees are given a 10-minute grace period before being considered late and that she arrived to work in that span. The following week, however, she was fired for tardiness. (She says she was told she was more than 40 minutes late; a videotape of her arrival had since been taped over.) The case is in the arbitration phase as the NLRB decides whether to pursue further action.

When asked about the termination, a store manager referred all questions to Kenney.

"We always want to solve problems in-house and not debate through the media," Kenney says. After City Paper spoke to Kenney, a mass e-mail was sent out advising employees to not speak directly to reporters — a policy already listed in the employee handbook. Current employees say the e-mail is currently posted in the break room.

Hanging in the store last month was a sign that explained Cummings' story and advised employees what to do in response to unfair labor practices: keep written records of any disciplinary or harassing behavior and have a witness present during any meetings with management.

"I felt that I had to stand up for the principle of fair labor when I filed this claim and that this billion-dollar company should not be allowed to bully ordinary people," Cummings says. "We're not asking for more money, just a semblance of respect."

The store faced union issues in 1998 when Local 1776 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union circulated flyers stating that the company kept unions out of its stores nationwide. The company faced union-busting accusations after officials announced it would no longer recognize a union formed by workers at a Wisconsin market.

"This has been a case where maybe we [Whole Foods] don't have the right people in the right situation. We have a strict business model that is successful, and we want it to be followed by all team members," Kenney says. "All store environments are open and democratic."