NLRB: Kroger subsidiary engaged in unfair labor practices

The National Labor Relations Board has found a Kroger subsidiary in Texas guilty of stopping the collection of union dues after its collective bargaining agreement expired.

Kroger Texas LP, which denies any wrongdoing, now must pay a union the dues the company would have collected from workers’ paychecks, plus interest, during the time of the impasse. According to court documents, Kroger Texas LP is liable for the dues under a retroactive application of the NLRB’s Valley Hospital Medical Center, which took place in 2022. The decision removed an employer’s right to stop dues collection after the conclusion of a collective bargaining agreement.

Kroger Texas LP admitted it did not collect dues for a group of stores in Texas and Louisiana beginning Nov. 30, 2022 until new collective bargaining agreements were reached in 2022.

The defendant argued the prosecuting of the case was intentionally delayed, which denied it of due process and its rights actions against “arbitrary and capricious government action.” Furthermore, Kroger Texas LP said there were not any reasons for the delay.

The subsidiary argued the union waived its rights to past dues when a new collective bargaining agreement was settled.

The board, however, disagreed and found that Kroger Texas LP engaged in certain unfair labor practices.