A manager and two employees who worked for Spot Coffee in Upstate New York were reportedly terminated for trying to join a union. The employees were terminated for organizing a meeting while the manager was terminated for refusing to tell the company who attended it. A state lawmaker has called for a boycott of the company and said that unions were an important part of America.
Spot Coffee posted a message to its Facebook page claiming that it did not terminate the employees because of their desire to form a union. However, it didn’t say why the employees were ultimately let go. A complaint was made to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and the company said that it would defend its actions during a future meeting. An employee of Spot Coffee said that the workers lacked protections without a union and that workers were routinely terminated without knowing why.
Workers who are part of a union enjoy a variety of benefits such as the right of collective bargaining. Employers are typically unable to stop employees from exploring the possibility of obtaining union representation for themselves. Companies that interfere with this process may face penalties for doing so.
An attorney may be able to represent a person who was terminated for trying to start a union. Legal counsel may also be available for those who were terminated in violation of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Union members are generally allowed to obtain copies of the current CBA in an effort to preserve their rights under that agreement. If a worker shows that he or she was the victim of employment harassment or discrimination, it may be possible to obtain compensation for lost wages and the value of lost benefits.