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BY CHRISTINE HARVEY
| Thursday, November 07, 2002 | (No comments posted.)
Times Staff Writer
HAMMOND -- City Council members who were invited to the grand opening of the new Food 4 Less grocery store said they were temporarily barred from attending because they brought union organizers as their guests.
Councilwomen Kathy Kazmierczak, D-5th, and Kathleen Pucalik, D-at large, said they were stopped Tuesday by security when they entered the Food 4 Less parking lot with members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881, including organizers Jim Bakken and Moises Zavala.
After she identified herself several times as a councilwoman, the group eventually was allowed to enter the event, Kazmierczak said. However, the union members were prevented from speaking to employees and were shadowed by store management throughout the event, she said.
This occurred despite promises from the company -- upon receiving a $738,000 tax abatement in June from the city -- that it would leave the choice of whether to unionize up to employees.
"My feeling is this -- there's definitely anti-union sentiment. It was shown (Tuesday) night," Kazmierczak said. "They said they would be neutral. Clearly they are not neutral. How they treated the union reps (Tuesday) night was wrong."
Mike Parks, Midwest division director of store operations at Food 4 Less, said he simply made the organizers aware of the store's nonsolicitation policy, saying they would have to leave if they didn't adhere to it.
"Unfortunately, this union is using whatever devious tactics necessary to violate our policies, which are designed to protect our employees," Parks said. "It's unfortunate that the council members may not be aware of the rules or process."
Parks said no one was asked to leave at any time, though he admitted he was never in the parking lot.
However, Kazmierczak said she specifically remembered Parks telling Zavala to leave after he introduced himself to an employee and offered his help should the employee wish to participate in organizing a union at the store.
"He immediately jumped in front of me and said, 'You are not allowed to do this, and you have to leave,' " Zavala said. "He threatened to call the police."
Kazmierczak said she told Parks that she felt the ejection of one of her guests equated to the withdrawal of her invitation as well.
"I said, 'If you're telling a union person he has to leave, then you're telling me to leave, too,' " she said. "(Parks) said, 'Then fine, you're leaving, too.' "
Kazmierczak said she told Parks that if anyone was going to tell her to leave that it would have to be the president of the company himself. The president, Dave Hirz, did speak with Kazmierczak, smoothing things over by saying her guest wouldn't have to leave as long as he refrained from soliciting union membership, she said.
"It's insulting because they really want to portray the image that I was doing something wrong," Zavala said. "It's a form of surveillance. It's a form of intimidation. (Tuesday) was a prime example of the anti-union propaganda that they use to intimidate and discourage the employees from improving their working conditions and being part of the union."
Parks said he refuses to allow employees to be forced into union membership without a secret ballot vote, which he said the organizers are trying to do by soliciting them to sign authorization cards. He also said he doesn't see the need for a union at Food 4 Less because the company offers what he says are better wages and the same or better medical benefits than unions can secure.
Along the lines of taking care of the company's employees, Parks said he wants to protect them from having to shell out money for union dues and worrying about the possibility of going on strike. But last week, an employee hired to work at the new Food 4 Less store accused the company, and Parks in particular, of bashing unions during an orientation session held in Illinois.
"(The grand opening) was a social event. We were hoping at least to talk to the employees," said Bakken, adding that the company can force workers to listen to its anti-union rhetoric while it cuts off the access of unions to inform them of their federal rights. That's really why we wanted to be there -- to introduce ourselves."
Mayor Duane Dedelow Jr., a member of Carpenters Local 599, gave a presentation at the event that included a request that Food 4 Less give employees the option of choosing for themselves whether or not to form a union.
The mayor added that Kroger, the Cincinnati-based parent of Food 4 Less, knew from day one that the city expected no less.
Neither Dedelow nor the councilwomen would go so far as to say the council should consider rescinding the company's tax abatement.
Dedelow said taking such a position now would be premature, while Kazmierczak and Pucalik said they planned to discuss their experience at the grand opening with their fellow council members before coming to any conclusions.
Christine Harvey can be reached at charvey@nwitimes.com or (219) 933-4174.
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