Walmart-at-the-Crossroads-FINAL-06.04.15

i. Labor
In December 2012, UNFI was the subject of a report by the the non-profit organization
International Labor Rights Forum (IRLF). This investigation was sparked by a request from the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a union which had charged UNFI with serious labor rights
violations.
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The ILRF assessed UNFI’s behavior against the core standards of the International Labor
Photo courtesy of the International Brotherhood of
Teamsters
Organization (ILO)*, but focused primarily on ILO
Conventions 87 and 98, which protect workers’
right to freedom of association.
The report notes that “…UNFI’s conduct is not
unusual among U.S. companies waging aggressive
antiunion campaigns. Indeed, UNFI’s tactics are
strikingly similar, for example, to those used
by Walmart in its efforts to prevent
unionization by its employees, as documented
by Human Rights Watch.”
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These practices
“nevertheless violate international labor standards,
which call for employers to allow workers’ comparable access to information concerning
unionization.”
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One worker stated, “I think that the situation is bad; if they find out you are
organizing, they start to watch you very carefully; they are looking to call you out for any small
reason.”
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The worker’s perception may have been correct as the ILRF “…heard allegations that UNFI
had orchestrated the termination of several union supporters, justifying the dismissals on pretextual
grounds related to work performance.”
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In one particular situation reported by an employee, “a
supervisor told the worker in a conversation regarding unionization, ‘It would be better if you kept
quiet. There are three people who have complained about what is happening here and they
have all been fired.’”
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The report concluded that UNFI had engaged in serious violations of workers’ rights to the
freedom of association at both of its facilities in Moreno Valley, California and Auburn, Washington.
* The ILO is the agency of the United Nations charged with defining and protecting the rights
of workers.
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