Union Drops Charges vs. Bashas'

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

CHANDLER, Ariz. — The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 99 in Phoenix has opted to withdraw three unfair labor practice charges against Bashas' here for lack of evidence, the chain said last week.

The charges, filed with the National Labor Relations Board, alleged that Bashas' had terminated 19 employees at an AJ's store in Scottsdale, Ariz., for supporting the union and that two store managers at a Food City location had been “surveilling” employees.

Corey Owens, a UFCW spokesman, told SN the three charges were among more than 120 alleged violations being investigated, at the union's urging, by the NLRB, “and we plan to work with the employees involved to get the justice they desire through other means,” though he declined to pinpoint what those means might be.

Gregg Tucek, vice president of legal affairs for Bashas', said in a statement, “From a legal standpoint, when a charging party opts to withdraw an unfair charge, it's typically because the board confirms there isn't enough evidence to move forward. Lacking any substance to back up [its] allegations, the UFCW decided to completely withdraw the charges, [which] confirm[s] one thing: Our facts continue to outweigh the UFCW's fiction.”

Bashas' and the union have been sparring for several years over a number of unresolved issues.

Tucek said a defamation lawsuit against the union, which Bashas' filed in December 2007, remains in litigation.