WILD OATS SACKS UNION DELEGATE

For the past 8 months some workers at Wild Oats in Cincinnati, Ohio have been organizing with the Industrial Workers of the World, a grassroots union devoted to empowering workers on the job. Several members have been subjected to anti - union behavior from certain members of management for wearing union buttons to work and participating in concerted activity. Wild Oats even distributed a leaflet asking workers not to join the union or support the I.W.W.
One of the main organizers, Tom (Tom Kat), was also a union delegate which was clearly stated on the Cincy IWW website for many months. What may have triggered the retaliation was union members distributing labor cartoons with the web address on it during the time workers from the Mason store were training at the Norwood location.
On July 10, Tom was fired for allegedly stealing some produce. The produce manager had told employees including Tom that produce in the waste corner of the cooler could be discounted at $.10 a pound after a worker got fired for eating a muffin without immediately paying for it. Discount produce had been an understood practice among produce employees and management for several months and on the incident involving Tom, the produce manager denied ever giving any employee permission to discount produce
The events leading up to the firing include workers pursuing grievances in collective fashion and just two weeks before this particular incident Tom had addressed a grievance about getting new produce carts for the department. Workers in the produce department as well as the Wild Oats Job Branch are in the process of organizing a working agreement on conditions for management for the produce department and have been open about it for the past two months. Here is Tom’s account of the situation:
Friday, July 9th – 10:00 - 10:10pm
After clocking out for my shift and heading out the doors of the backroom the manager on duty for the night was paged to the back to the time clock and upon us crossing paths motioned for me to wait a minute because he wanted to talk to me. When he came back another worker had been coming out and he stopped that worker as well. The manager stated that “Although I feel bad about it, I must search your bags and check your receipts.”
The three of us stopped at a table in the café area across from the juice bar. I gave Kenny my receipt for the items and took out the produce that I had in the bag. I stated that the produce manager gives a reduced price for waste product and that the produce was going to be thrown out (and/or given to the free store) and that I wasn’t sure if he knew about the discount. The produce cost $.19.
I stated that I would throw the product in the garbage and told the manager that it would be his call to approve me leaving the premises with it. He stated that it would be up to the store director and that I should just throw them in garbage. Realizing that $.19 wasn’t really worth my job I through the produce in the garbage and left the premises.
The other worker that was stopped had items in a wild oats shopping bag and could not show a receipt. He vouched that some of the items were not items that the store carried and that the
others that he did have in the bag were purchased several days before. The manager then stated that it was okay and he could go.
Another worker brought her bag up to him as well and the manager non-chalantly checked her bag.
Saturday, July 10th 1:30pm – 1:45pm
The produce manager in the presence of the produce supervisor questions me about the cooler
which last night had been turned off. He said that he lost all the product in the cooler and seemed quite mad.
He then tells me to follow him to the back to talk to Store Director.
Upon entering the office was the store director, the service manager, and the produce manager. The store director asked me what happened last night and feeling a bit uncomfortable I asked for a union representative to be present before I could answer any questions. Without any hesitation the the store director replied, “there won’t be any questions because you are terminated.” I then asked, “on what conditions.” He said that I tried to steal bananas and a mango which he had on his desk. When I looked at what items they had on the desk it was some over ripe bananas and an old avocado. I stated that that it isn’t even a mango it’s an avocado and then showed them the receipt for the produce. I made a statement to the produce manager that he had okay’d employees to discount produce that is in the waste corner to $.10 a pound. He stated, “I never okay’d that.” During this time I constantly reiterated that several employees had done it in the past and that all of them, including yourself, said that it was okay. He still denied ever giving any employees permission to discount produce.
The store director kept reiterating that I left the premises with the product and I kept rebutting that, “I through the product in the garbage and left the premises and that I had a receipt.” The store director then changed his story saying that it didn’t matter because I didn’t get the permission of either him or the produce manager to discount the produce and that I was still guilty of theft.
The store director then said that the Assistant Service Manager had written a statement the previous night that explained his position on what happened. I asked to see the paper and he handed it over to me. In his statement he wrote that he stopped (6) employees to check their wild oats shopping bags. He mentioned myself and the other worker who had no receipt were the only two problems. His statement said that the worker without the receipt had product from another store and half eaten product from our store but the product looked used.
His position on me was a bit different saying that I was trembling when he asked for my receipt and that he said I told him that I did not pay for the produce. He also states that I had bananas and a mango. I then asked the store director for a copy of the statement in which he replied NO.
I stated, “I really enjoy working here but this is a clear attempt to get rid of me because I am the member of the union and that I would be contacting the union immediately.” The service manager responded by saying, “we don’t care if you are in the union and this isn’t a union shop.” The interview ended with me asking what I had to do. The store director said that he wanted me to clock out and be on my way.






Tom was clearly picked out by management because he is a union organizer. Tom has always been very open about it to other workers and worn union buttons and apparel openly because he knows the benefits of having a union and of policies at the store being implemented for one and not for all. This is clearly an attempt to finally squash the union activity at the store and coerce employees into submission

AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL

CALL
DEMAND TO WILD OATS MANANGEMENT
We, are concerned about the termination
of Fellow Worker Tom Kappas' employment. We feel
that it was an unfair termination, and ask that he be
reinstated without prejudice.

We are concerned about arbitrary or confusing policies, and
ask that a policy that can possibly lead to termination of
employment be committed to writing.

We are all concerned about the the work environment, and
have similar goals, along with management, for a
functional and profitable business. We do not feel our
concerns are unreasonable or detrimental to these
goals, and ask that employees voicing their concerns
do not experience retaliation.



Wild Oats Norwood -513 – 531 – 8015 or email edmstrdir (at) wildoats.com - Store Director – Fred Meyer -

Wild Oats customer service – 1 800 494 WILD

Ohio Valley IWW c/o Mark Damron P.O. Box 42233 Cinci. Ohio 45242
513 899 9927 cincyiww (at) iww.org cincyiww.org