by Shia Michele Levitt
Narration:
The dispute started in late 2001. Duane Reade and the union representing its workers were negotiating a contract. Then Duane Reade declared an impasse and imposed the terms and conditions of their final offer, taking back significant benefits. The union says the impasse was declared prematurely. And, in its initial ruling, the National Labor Relations Board agreed that Duane Reade engaged in unfair labor practices by failing to sufficiently bargain with the union. Scott Crowley is with the Local 338 Union representing the workers.
Scott Crowley:
"Duane Reade imposed a contract on these workers which drastically reduced their health benefits, took away their pension benefits, took away their vacation funds, and stripped
them of their Christmas bonus which they've been getting for years."
Narration:
Duane Reade says the impasse was legitimate and that the new contract included vacation pay and wage increases. But the NLRB said that Duane Reade must make right the situation by re-instating the old contract, and paying employees back benefits, and union dues taken out of employee paychecks. Duane Reade is still appealing this decision. Then more problems arose when the employees attempted to affiliate with a larger and more aggressive union, Local 338 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Several employees said they were intimidated or threatened that they might be fired or transferred to another store if they voted YES on the affiliation measure.
Fade up ambience of Duane Reade checkout line
Patricia Thompson, a cashier, said the pressure from her supervisor was not subtle.
Thompson:
"We had to sign our names to the petition, either we was going to vote yes or we was going to vote no…. The manager collected it, and he just looked over, and he said, you know, if you want your jobs, you gonna know how to vote"
Narration:
Thompson refused to sign the paper because she supported the affiliation effort.
The measure was defeated in a vote, but employee claims of voter intimidation prompted the union to complain to the NLRB as well as hold a re-vote. In the new election, the affiliation measure passed with 93 percent support. But Duane Reade maintains that the first election results are valid and does not recognize the affiliation.
When managers at several stores asked employees distribute another petitions about the ongoing union dispute, Thompson again refused. Soon after, she and three coworkers were laid off. Although she says she wasn't given an official reason for her dismissal, Thompson believes that she was fired for not taking Duane Reade's side in the election.
The NLRB will now decide whether the company violated the Labor Relations Act by interfering in the election on the affiliation with Local 338. Cornell University professor and labor lawyer Larry Cary has read the NLRB decisions in the case.
Cary:
"What's really at stake is the right of workers to exercise their democratic, legally enforceable rights to chose what union they wish to be a member of."
Narration:
Duane Reade declined to be interviewed for this story, but issued a statement saying they are confident that both law and facts support their position and that the company is not required to take any action. NLRB decisions are not enforceable until both sides have exhausted their appeals. Sometimes companies abide by the decisions, and sometimes they take NLRB decisions as recommendations rather than court orders.
New York state Assemblyman Jeff Klein, of the Bronx, says Duane Reade has been dragging out the process for a long time, leaving workers without a contract-- and benefits --- in the mean time.
Assemblyman Jeff Klein:
"Every time that the Labor Relations Board comes up with a decision that runs counter to Duane Reade's position, they ignore it and they look to appeal."
Narration:
Local 338 is an affiliate of the Uniformed Food and Commercial Workers, the same parent union of the workers that held a strike in California for over four months earlier this year. A judge from the NLRB in Manhattan heard the opening arguments and some testimony for the Duane Reade election case in March. The trial will resume in early May. Patricia Thomson, who testified in the recent trial, has been unemployed since she lost her job at Duane Reade in December. For Columbia Radio News, I'm Shia Levitt.