MOM’s Organic Market employees in College Park have reached a more than $17,000 settlement with the company after a two-year legal dispute over alleged anti-union discrimination, according to a news release on Wednesday.
According to Wednesday’s news release from the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 union, MOM’s announced company-wide pay raises for all employees except those at the College Park location two weeks after College Park workers voted to unionize with the chapter in December 2022.
UFCW Local 400 filed an unfair labor lawsuit in January 2023 against the company to the National Labor Relations Board. The union argued that MOM’s engaged in anti-union discrimination and violated federal law by denying raises for the unionized store.
Wednesday’s settlement will be used to compensate 74 employees who were denied pay increases for weekend and holiday hours, according to the news release.
“No matter the employer, our union will always fight to protect our members’ rights and hold bosses accountable for breaking the law,” said Mark Federici, UFCW Local 400’s president.
[MOM’s Organic Market employees rally against anti-union discrimination in College Park]
MOM’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Workers at the College Park location voted 22-9 in November against an effort to remove the union, according to a news release in November from UFCW Local 400.
In a September 2023 rally, union workers and MOM’s employees accused the company of firing an employee after talking about the union and organizing at work, The Diamondback previously reported.
“This was a long time coming, but we refused to give up,” MOM’s College Park employee Laura Jackson said in Wednesday’s release.
MOM’s College Park workers are negotiating their first union contract, the news release said.
