Chipotle closes Maine store that sought to unionize

[Omaha Steve]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/07/20/chipotle-union-maine-store-closure/

Company executives say the closure was motivated by staffing shortages, but union organizers accuse them of “union busting.”

By Aaron Gregg
Updated July 20, 2022 at 3:47 p.m. EDT Published July 20, 2022 at 10:47 a.m. EDT

Chipotle has permanently closed a Maine location where workers were attempting to unionize, drawing criticism from organizers who condemned it as a union-busting tactic.

The store, located in a strip mall just off the highway in Augusta, recently became the first Chipotle location to file union paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board. But hours before the matter was scheduled to be taken up at a 10 a.m. hearing Tuesday, the company notified workers of the closure, according to emails shared with The Washington Post by Jeff Young, an attorney representing the workers.

Young accused the company of illegally retaliating against workers who sought to organize. The union has filed an unfair labor practice charge over the issue.

“I call it union-busting 101,” Young said in an email. “This clearly was a signal to [workers] that if you organize you could lose your job.”

FULL story at link above.

[Midnight Writer]

1. Business will continue to break laws until the executives face personal consequences.

Such as arrest, trial, and possibly prison.

Facing lawsuits and paying fines is built into the operating plan. Many even budget for paying regulatory fines.

They would rather pay a fine or a judgement than have their labor force organized and unionized.