Jimmy Johns

By David Feldmann

For several years, the IWW has had an active organizing drive in Jimmy John’s sandwich shops, most notably in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. (the Twin Cities). Earlier this year, six Jimmy John’s workers were fired, ostensibly for violating the company’s attendance policy regarding sick days. The workers were all IWW members who had been involved in attempts to publicize the food safety concerns of Jimmy John’s sandwich makers in the Twin Cities. Naturally, the union members contend that they were targeted because of their involvement with the IWW and not because of their attempts to call in sick without finding someone to cover their shift (the contentious policy in question).

On Nov. 4, Erik Forman, longtime IWW member and Jimmy John’s worker, announced that “the NLRB [National Labor Relation Board] is going to file a complaint against Jimmy John’s on every single charge we filed against them.” The Jimmy John’s campaign went public in 2010 after a long period of clandestine organizing activity. In October of that year, the first fast food workers’ union in the United States lost a union election (85 in favor, 87 against) after franchise owner Mike Mulligan spent more than $84,000 on union busting, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. IWW members argued that Mulligan, who owns ten Jimmy John’s stores in the Twin Cities, broke labor laws in trying to stifle the union’s presence and influence. This position was reinforced by the NLRB, who threw out the election results in January 2011 after declaring Mulligan had, among other things, lied to employees about the union and unlawfully retaliated against IWW members. To date, the IWW hasn’t called for another election, but has instead focused on exposing alleged health code violations at Jimmy John’s locations and getting the fired workers reinstated at the fast food chain. After the results of the NLRB investigation were announced, the Jimmy John’s union proclaimed that all “six fired organizers will go back to work, with back pay, hopefully within the next few months.”

For a labor union that has historically eschewed legal recognition, the IWW has been surprisingly successful at convincing the NLRB that they are in the right, not just in regards to Jimmy John’s but also in the more established campaign to organize baristas at Starbucks (the IWW has won even more legal victories in that struggle). Time will tell whether the IWW can withstand the onslaught of anti-union tactics employed by Mulligan and the rest of Jimmy John’s management in the Twin Cities and continue to expand the union. Now that the NLRB decision has strengthened their resolve, this prospect seems very likely indeed.

The Silent Room: A Worker's Musical

Contacts: Ted Dewberry, 763-607-4492; Erik Forman, 612-598-6205

The Silent Room Takes Audiences Inside Labor Insurgency in America's Corporate Chains

Sneak Preview: 7:30pm July 7th, Zorongo Dance Theater Performance Dates: August 5th-11th in the Minnesota Fringe Fest at the Gremlin Theater.

MINNEAPOLIS-- When a coworker at Starbucks approached barista Ted Dewberry about forming a union at their workplace, his initial reaction was fear. Working 17 hour days at Starbucks and IKEA to pay off decades-old film school student loans, Ted was in no position to risk his job. He reluctantly agreed to come to a meeting, but only to listen. Little did he know the decision would change his life. In the months that followed, Ted and his coworkers faced down a campaign of intimidation coordinated by Starbucks' anti-union consultants at the Akin Gump law firm, won improved working conditions at their store, and helped spark a retail workers movement that continues to grow with unionization campaigns at Jimmy John's, Target, Walmart, the Apple Store, and other corporate juggernauts.

An independent filmmaker in his limited free time, Dewberry decided to tell the story of what happens when you say "union yes." The result is "The Silent Room," a new music-laced exposé of the misery of the corporate retail workplace. The name of the show is inspired by a special room in the Twin Cities IKEA for workers to go to when they have a nervous breakdown on the job.

Do you want someone with the flu or a cold to have to make your sandwich? Do you want to have to work when you're sick? Do you think workers should be able to afford to take a day off?

In cities across the US, restaurant workers aren't allowed to and often can't afford to take a day off when they are sick. But this barbaric practice might be about to change. In Minneapolis, MN, the IWW Jimmy John's Workers Union is waging a campaign for paid sick days... and winning. Until now, management at the Miklin Enterprises Jimmy John's disciplined and even fired workers who stayed home while sick without getting their shift covered. After months of pressure from union members, the franchise owners have begun to crack. The owners recently announced a new policy which allows workers to call in up to five times in a year without being fired. We still have a long way to go, but this concession shows that together, we can make our voices heard.

Help us take our message to Jimmy John's workers across the nation- together we can win paid sick days and the respect and dignity all workers deserve!

To participate, email the Union at jimmyjohnsworkers [at] gmail.com. We will give you instructions on how to set up an outreach event in your community.

Together, we will win!

Campaign related Facebook Event - link

For more info - jimmyjohnsworkers.org