story by Ryan Saylor
rsaylor@thecitywire.com
A May 1 vote against unionizing at the Fort Smith-based OK Foods processing facility in Heavener, Okla., has been thrown out by the National Labor Relations Board after it had accused the company of interfering with the vote. A company official rejected the interference allegation.
The accusations from the NLRB came in a letter from the agency's Amy Novara, a field examiner, who detailed a list of nearly 20 different accusations against the company and individuals from on-site supervisors to CEO Trent Goins.
Novara said the company attempted to use financial incentives to influence the May 1 vote on whether employees should join the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1000, a vote that ultimately failed. She also said after March 20, OK Foods denied wage increases and retroactive pay to employees who engaged in union activities.
Novara's letter continued, alleging the company threatened employees if they voted in favor of unionizing with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1000 during the May 1 vote.
"In or about February 2014, the Employer ... informed employees that they could not address wage increases and retroactive pay because of the Union and threatened employees with loss of wages if employees selected the union as their collective bargaining representative, in violation of Section 8(a)(1) of the Act," she wrote.
In his ruling handed down Nov. 13, NLRB Hearing Officer Michael Werner agreed with Novara's claims of interference by the company in the union vote.
"Consistent with my findings above, I find that there is sufficient evidence that the Employer interfered with employee free choice by promising employees a wage increase if they rejected the Petitioner, by telling an employee that it could not resolve his wage complaint because of employees' union activity, and by soliciting and promising to remedy employees' complaints."
As part of the interference, Werner said OK Foods President and CEO Trent Goins engaged with employees about grievances the staff of the facility had, which included 90-day wage increases and the lack of a nurse on certain shifts. Goins, Werner said, resolved some of the issues raised by staff during the lead up to the vote.
"That Goins did not notify employees if or how or if the Employer resolved each complaint carries little significance," Werner wrote in his ruling. "Regardless of whether an employer specifically tells employees that he has resolved their complaints, they are bound to recognize their employer's newfound willingness to listen to their concerns and infer that the employer is willing to remedy their grievances if they reject the union."
Werner recommended setting aside the May 1 election and holding another vote for the employees of the Heavener facility.
Goins defended himself from the allegations made following the vote and Werner's findings in a statement to The City Wire Thursday (Nov. 20).
"Despite the fact that the National Labor and Relations Board's hearing officer overruled all of the specific objections made against OK Foods by the union, and even held that the company didn't threaten, coerce or intimidate anyone, the officer still believed a new election is warranted. Only when you are up against a labor union board can a company win all the objections yet still have to have another election simply because the outcome didn't go the union's way.
"While we are disappointed with the subjective decision by the National Labor and Relations Board's hearing officer, we will continue to stand with and support our maintenance and refrigeration employees in Heavener, Oklahoma, who voted against the union and against organizing this past May. While this decision is a setback for our employees, we fully expect them to once again unite and vote against the union."
For its part, the UFCW Local 1000, which originally filed the objection to the May 1 vote's results, said it was pleased with Werner's decision to recommend another election.
“I’m pleased the Board did the right thing for these workers,” said UFCW Local 1000 President Ricky Burris. "The Board ruled definitively that OK Foods interfered with these employees’ free choice in organizing a union. Why is this company so scared of its workers having a fair vote without lies and coercion? I want to see a re-vote scheduled as soon as possible.”
No date has been set for a new election.