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Mostly Cloudy Judge orders new union vote at Target
Employees at the Valley Stream Target will vote for a second time to decide whether or not they would like to unionize after an administrative law judge ruled that Target Corp. violated federal labor laws during, and leading up to, last year’s unionization vote.
The ruling, made by Judge Steven Davis of the National Labor Relations Board on May 18, said Target intimidated employees by use of illegal interrogation and distribution of a leaflet that insinuated the store could be closed if employees unionized, in addition to other violations.
The leaflet mentioned that 32 A&P locations have closed and that the union has a terrible record of store closings. “Companies close stores for economic reasons,” the leaflet read. “Our store will stay open only so long as it meets Target’s economic and operational needs. A UNION WILL NOT CHANGE THESE FACTS.”
Last year’s union vote was held on June 17 and yielded a 137 to 85 result against unionizing. Shortly after the vote, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 filed charges against Target. The trial began on Feb. 1.
“To us, this proves what workers have been saying since day one,” said Pat Purcell, spokesman for UFCW Local 1500. “That it was Target’s intent to deny these people democracy and now the federal government has charged them with denying them democracy.”
The Valley Stream Target is currently under construction and will reopen its doors later this year. Target officials said plans for the renovation began in 2010 and are unrelated to the recent charges filed.
Of Target’s 275 employees at the Valley Stream location, eligible team members could transfer to another Target store during the remodel and then transfer back once the store reopens, according to Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder.
In light of Davis’ ruling, Target is evaluating its next steps, according to Snyder. “Target is disappointed in the NLRB judge’s ruling,” Snyder said, “and we respectfully disagree with the judge’s decision. We firmly believe Target followed all laws throughout the union’s campaign at its Valley Stream store and that the process leading up to the June 2011 election was fair and legal, resulting in a strong rejection of unionization by our team members at the Valley Stream store.”
Davis cited several rules in Target’s Team Member Handbook that he said will not be enforced or maintained in the future. The rules Davis took issue with included a no-distribution rule that prohibited employees from distributing any literature at any time on Target’s premises. There was also a “Communicating Confidential Information” policy that prohibited employees from sharing confidential information with other employees and from having discussions regarding confidential information at home or in open areas and public spaces, among other restrictions. Furthermore, employees had to get approval to wear buttons or logos on their clothing from Team Leaders.
When the Valley Stream Target is reopened, an appendix will be posted in the facility that states that Target will not threaten, give leaflets to or question employees about their union activities, in addition to other changes made.
Purcell said that the union vote will be held when the stores reopens and added that he felt very strongly that the judge would rule against Target. “This one to me was just so overwhelming,” he said. “It was so blatant, they made little-to-no attempt to follow the law, so we did feel very confident on this one.”
