Restaurant, Hotel, and Building Service Workers I.U. 640

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Rebecca Smith and Joe Brock: Who Are These People?

Posted Mon, 10/04/2010 - 6:32pm by x344543

In the last two weeks, many of us at Jimmy John's have had to sit through mandatory meetings with Rebecca Smith and Joe Brock. Rebecca Smith and Joe Brock claim that they just want to give us information so we can decide for ourselves if we want to form a union. The truth is that they are from Labor Relations Institute, Inc., a third-party anti-union company hired by Mike and Rob Mulligan. LRI promises employers that if they are hired, workers will be unable to form a union, or your money back. Their standard fee is $3000 per day, $375 an hour. Do you think the Mulligans pay these people hundreds of dollar an hour to be a neutral voice? Since September 15, we estimate they have been paid $45,000 by the Mulligans, or enough to give every Jimmy Johns worker $200 cash. In a recent campaign against workers organizing a union at Soaring Eagle Casino, LRI made $1.5 million total for their work. Rebecca Smith and Joe Brock have a financial interest in convincing you to vote no. They have a history of using misrepresentations, lies, and subtle threats to divide and conquer workers. Do they deserve our trust? No!

Here is more information about this pair that they have been hiding.

Rebecca Smith

  • Claims to have worked as a union organizer. We contacted the Teamster union local she worked for when she lived near Pahrump, NV. They said she never worked as an organizer. She ran a program that taught people things like asbestos safety and forklift driving. That means she's lying to us.
  • Claims she voluntarily quit her paid position in the Teamsters union. The truth is her own coworkers petitioned to have her removed from union office because of her gross incompetence.
  • Was paid $103,031 for her work in a union-busting campaign at Soaring Eagle Casinos in Michigan in 2007. What did you get paid in 2007? Rebecca Smith gets a fat salary for union-busting, she doesn't know and doesn't care about what our lives are like.
  • Kicked out of her own union, Rebecca Smith now travels around the country making misleading and manipulative statements about unions for employers.

Joe Brock

  • Claims he was a union organizer. The truth is he was a highly paid official, not an organizer.
  • Was happy to earn more than $80,000 per year from the Teamsters, then took a pay raise to attack the union members who gave him such a comfortable life style.
  • Claims to be a Teamster who left because of problems in the labor movement. He doesn't tell us that he lost an election for office and then sued over losing. The Department of Labor ruled Brock’s claims against his local were baseless. So he quit and became a professional union buster.
  • Claims his job as an anti-union consultant lets him help workers improve their lives on the job. Do you really think the Mulligans all of a sudden decided bring Brock here for $3,000 per day to improve conditions? Brock is not here to improve workers’ lives. He is here to earn a buck preventing us from having more input into how this place is run.

These are the facts. Decide for yourself, who do you trust? Highly paid outsiders like Rebecca Smith and Joe Brock, or your own co-workers who want all Jimmy John’s employees to have more voice on the job?

All of the information in this note is based on research gathered from US Department of Labor reports and given to us by unions that Rebecca Smith and Joe Brock worked for or were members of. If you'd like to see the documentation, we'd be happy to show it to you. Contact us here.

At Jimmy Johns, Allegations of Illegal Union-Busting as NLRB Election Approaches

Posted Fri, 10/01/2010 - 1:08pm by x344543

Labor Rights Violations Stack up as Sandwich Chain Turns to 'Union Avoidance' Consultants

MINNEAPOLIS– Jimmy John's will face a government investigation of 14 alleged violations of the National Labor Relations Act at ten Minneapolis locations, the IWW Jimmy John's Workers Union announced today. The sandwich workers union has filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge accusing company owners Mike and Rob Mulligan of engaging in a pattern of labor rights violations ranging from physical intimidation and threats against union members, to tightening of company policies in retaliation for union activity.

“When we formed the union, we were hoping to just be able to sit down with Mike and Rob to talk about some basic improvements- sick days, basic respect, and a pay raise above minimum wage. We are dismayed that Jimmy John's has opted to bring in high-priced anti-union consultants and attempt to illegally union-bust rather than just come to the table,” said Ayo Collins, a member of the union.

Franchise owners Mike and Rob Mulligan have refused to meet with their employees to discuss their issues, prompting the sandwich workers to file for a National Labor Relations Board union election. The Labor Board recently announced that the election will be held on October 22.

If a majority of Minneapolis Jimmy Johns workers vote in favor of the union, the Mulligans will be legally required to negotiate in good faith over the terms of a contract.

In response to the union campaign, Jimmy Johns has contracted with Labor Relations Institute, Inc., a third party anti-union consultancy firm, to mount a comprehensive attack on union supporters. With the aid of Labor Relations Institute, the Mulligans have begun a series of 'captive audience meetings,' requiring their employees to watch anti-union videos in an attempt to break support for unionization. Other aspects of the anti-union campaign have crossed over into illegality, with reports of management threats, intimidation, and retaliation against union members surfacing across Minneapolis.

According to a 2009 report on employer responses to union organizing by noted Cornell University labor scholar Kate Bronfenbrenner, 63% of employers interrogate workers in mandatory one-on-one meetings about support for the union, 54% of employers threaten workers in such meetings, 47% of employers threaten to cut wages and benefits, 34% of employers fire workers, and 28% attempt to infiltrate the organizing committee. Due to these factors, only 45% of NLRB elections conducted from 1999-2003 resulted in a union victory.

In large part because of harsh employer opposition, union density in the food service industry hovers around a mere 1.8%. A union victory at Jimmy Johns could be a major breakthrough for labor in an industry where unions have struggled to gain a foothold, even as an increasing number of Americans find themselves employed in fast food.

Historic First in Nation's Fast Food Industry, 200 Jimmy Johns Workers to Vote in NLRB Union Election on October 22

Posted Fri, 10/01/2010 - 12:58pm by x344543

Potential Turning Point for Labor as Millions in Service Sector Face Deepening Poverty

MINNEAPOLIS– The National Labor Relations Board confirmed today that it will conduct a union election for 200 workers at ten Minneapolis-area Jimmy John's on October 22, an historic first in the nation's almost entirely non-union fast food industry. The secret ballot union election could be a turning point for labor at a time of deepening poverty for millions of Americans affected by the recession, many of whom are employed in low-wage service sector jobs.

“People who thought of themselves as middle class or upwardly-mobile two years ago are now making minimum wage at Jimmy John's, with no real prospects for moving up. If these are the kinds of jobs that American workers will be stuck with, then we are going to make them quality jobs for working families,” said Mike Wilkow, a union member at Jimmy Johns.

If a majority of workers vote in favor of unionization, the company will be legally bound to negotiate with a bargaining team elected by its employees.

The unprecedented fast food union campaign at Jimmy John's comes at a time of deepening economic misery for US workers. According to a recent report by the US Census Bureau, a record-breaking 43.6 million Americans– 1 in 7 people– are living in poverty. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the unemployment rate at 9.6%, with 14.9 million people out of work and uncounted millions more too discouraged to look for work. Layoffs and outsourcing have decimated higher-paid jobs, particularly strongholds of unionization such as manufacturing and construction, forcing many workers to seek employment in low-wage areas of the economy once reserved for teenagers and students. For many, it feels like food service and retail are the only jobs left.

While many workers are forced to seek employment in food service, industry wages and working conditions are widely regarded as substandard; in 2009, the median wage in the fast food industry was $8.28/hr and as of July 2010, the average workweek in fast food was only 24.3 hours. The median annual income for fast food workers is $10,462, or $871 per month. This is less than half the federal poverty line of $21,954 for a family of four, and below the federal poverty line of $ 10,830 for an individual. Jimmy John's is below industry standards, paying most workers the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr, scheduling most workers less than 20 hours/week, and offering no benefits.

Jimmy Johns Employee on the Chopping Block for Refusing to Serve Rotten Meat

Posted Sun, 09/26/2010 - 1:03pm by x344543

Sandwich Workers and Customers Unite in Support of Working Class Hero

Press Conference and Delegation: 1pm Sunday September 26, Calhoun Square Jimmy Johns, 3001 Hennepin Ave. S.

MINNEAPOLIS– When Shift Supervisor Margaret Brickely began her morning prep work at Jimmy John's last Monday, she noticed that all of the meat and produce she pulled out of the cooler was warm and beginning to rot. The coolers had broken, leaving the meat at room temperature overnight. Margaret refused to serve the meat. Now, Jimmy John's is threatening her job in retaliation.

“The vegetables were shriveled, the meat hot, and the bread dough semi-cooked. This is not something I was willing to serve” says Margaret. “I called my District Manager Jason Effertz to inform him that the meat was rotten, and he ordered me to slice it and serve it. When I refused, Effertz came in and sliced the meat himself, preparing to sell it to customers.”

With the support of the newly-organized Jimmy Johns Workers Union, Margaret and her coworkers called the City of Minneapolis Health Department. A City Health Inspector came to the store, condemned the meat as unfit for human consumption, and forced management to throw it all away.

Had Margaret not taken a stand for proper sanitation, hundreds of customers would have been served rotten meat.

Jimmy Johns Workers Hijack Promotional Event to Press for Tip Jars

Posted Tue, 09/21/2010 - 1:52am by x344543

Sandwich Workers Union Keeps the Pressure on as Unprecedented Union Election Approaches

MINNEAPOLIS– Jimmy John’s workers were doing more than preparing french bread, cold cuts, and sliced tomatoes for “Dollar Sub Day” this morning as union members and supporters hit the bricks outside stores, asking customers to put up tip jars and use them.

The act of civil disobedience is meant to draw attention to a company policy that forbids tip jars, despite the fact that it costs nothing.

Union members say the action supports their goal of shifting power back to the workers. “We think having customers act in solidarity by putting up tip jars will give workers a glimpse of a better workplace, and a few more dollars in their pockets on one of the most hectic days” says Max Specktor, a bike delivery driver at multiple Jimmy John’s stores.