When Lou Mattioli received six months of back wages to resolve a case in which he was unlawfully fired for trying to organize a union, he was grateful to receive the compensation that was due him. However, if he had his druthers, he never would have gotten the award at all. What he most wanted was for the Employee Free Choice Act to become law, because then, he never would have been fired.
As reported in the March/April/May 2007 issue of the Union Leader, Mattioli was working at a cafeteria at the FBI Academyin Quantico, Va., run under contract by Service Source, Inc.There, he was outraged at the poor treatment of his fellowemployees, many of whom had disabilities. So he called Local400 for advice and started talking with his co-workers aboutjoining the union. In just two and a half weeks, 90 percent ofService Source employees at Quantico signed union cards.
If the Employee Free Choice Act had been law, Service Source would have been required to recognize the union and start contract negotiations. However, under today’s weak labor laws and poor enforcement, what happened was very different. Service Source security guards escorted Mattioli off the premises as if he was a criminal. Four days later, he was fired.
Local 400 immediately took action, charging that the company violated labor law by firing him for organizing his fellow employees. Service Source denied the obvious, first claiming he was a supervisor and then changing its story, saying he was a probationary employee. Eventually, the company realized it could not win its case even before a management stacked National Labor Relations Board and agreed to pay Mattioli half a year of back wages.
“It is gratifying that justice was done in this case,” said Local 400 President Jim Lowthers. “We’re like the Marines— we leave no one behind. Whether you’re part of a recognized bargaining unit or you’re trying to organize one, if management retaliates against you for exercising your constitutional, legal and civil rights, we will fight back with everything we have.
“More than anything else, though,” Lowthers continued, “this shows how urgently we need the Employee Free Choice Act, so that workers who want a union can have one and those who organize one are not harassed, disciplined or fired.”
Local 400 was able to find Mattioli a job at a union shop while his case against Service Source was pending. But after receiving his settlement, he chose to move back to his native Philadelphia, where he plans to enroll in law school and become a union lawyer. After seeing how Local 400 helped protect his rights, he wants to return the favor for the rest of his career.
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This article was also found in the UFCW Local 400 Union Leader newsletter. Are you missing your newsletter? Click here to confirm that Local 400 has your correct address on file. (links to online web form)
