By Deena Shanker | Bloomberg
Amy’s Kitchen Inc., a maker of frozen vegetarian meals and soups, has been accused of unfair labor practices at its plant in San Jose, according to complaints filed Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board.
Unite Here, a union representing approximately 300,000 workers in Canada and the US, says the company engaged in activities such as required attendance for anti-union meetings, disciplining employees for participation in labor activities and the termination of two employees for supporting a union. The group is also seeking a temporary injunction to halt the alleged practices.
“We are calling on Amy’s management to stop retaliating against workers, to stop disciplining them, to agree to a neutral process without threats and intimidations,” said Raquel Alvarez, president of the local chapter of Unite Here. “Workers should be able to fight for better conditions without fear.”
Amy’s Kitchen didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment after the complaints were filed.
The complaint comes less than two weeks after the termination of a machine operator by Amy’s Kitchen. Hector Guardado had worked at the San Jose plant for nearly a year, he told Bloomberg. On May 16, he led a delegation of workers to the manager’s office to complain about treatment of a co-worker and poor conditions at the facility, including a lack of bathroom breaks and penalties for taking sick days.
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On May 19, Guardado said he was told he was being fired for leaving his machine unattended while making the complaints. Guardado said he had informed his line leader that he would be going to speak with the manager.
“There are a lot of injustices at the plant,” Guardado said. “The workload is too high.”
There’s another campaign underway to unionize workers at Amy’s Kitchen’s plant in Santa Rosa. That’s being led by the Teamsters union, which alleges that the wages there are too low and that working conditions are unsafe.
Closely held Amy’s Kitchen employs more than 2,000 workers, according to its website.