Palermo agrees to settle with NLRB, seeks worker union vote

[Omaha Steve]

Source: The Business Journal

Jeff Engel

Palermo Villa Inc. said Tuesday it has “reluctantly” agreed to settle the remaining issues with the National Labor Relations Board stemming from its labor dispute that began more than a year ago.

The Milwaukee pizza manufacturer said it has asked the local NLRB office to set a date for an employee election to potentially form an in-house union.

“We have reluctantly agreed to this settlement, despite believing that the facts strongly support our position,” said Palermo president and CEO Giacomo Fallucca. “However, rather than continue to draw out the process and go to court, we have agreed to the settlement with reservation so that an election can take place. We do not admit any fault in this negotiated settlement, but it’s time to move forward and let the voices of our workers be heard.”

In April the NLRB’s Office of the General Counsel in Washington, D.C., upheld a local decision that Palermo did not violate labor relations laws when it fired dozens of workers last year because they didn’t have appropriate documentation proving their eligibility to work in the United States.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2013/07/30/palermo-agrees-to-settle-with-nlrb.html?ana=twt

---

?v=1

Palermo Villa said it agreed to the settlement to allow a worker union vote to proceed, but admitted no wrongdoing.

[Omaha Steve]

1. Here's the release that went out from people in-state (Reinstate Striking Employees And back-pay)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Brian Rothgery
July 26, 2013

Phone: [phone]

Palermo’s Pizza Agrees to Reinstate Striking Employees And Provide Back-Pay
Eight months after Labor Board decision, Multi-thousand dollar Settlement confirms
Palermo broke the law

Milwaukee – More than a year after firing nearly 100 striking employees, Palermo Villa Inc. has finally agreed to return eight of those former strikers to their jobs, with back-pay.

The total amount of back pay awarded to the eight workers could total tens of thousands of dollars. Palermo’s Pizza has also agreed to post a notice to employees that they will no longer violate federal labor law.

“As we have said before, Palermo’s Pizza repeatedly violated our rights to join a union. This agreement confirms that Palermo’ used threats, intimidation, surveillance, discrimination, and retaliation to deny the freedom to choose a union voice,” said Raul de la Torre, organizing committee member of the Palermo Workers Union.

“Palermo’s has finally been forced to confront the reality that they broke the law,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera. “They want Milwaukee to see them as a good corporate citizen, but this settlement is further evidence they violated the rights of US citizen and lawful permanent workers who joined forces with immigrant workers to challenge unsafe conditions , low wages, and mistreatment. The only language Palermo understands is money, and today they will have to apologize for violating workers’ right to organize in the only language they understand. Palermo Villa now stands as a national example of why we need immigration reform that protects the rights of all workers against employers that exploit and profit from immigrant labor."

The settlement agreement, negotiated as a result of charges brought by the Palermo Workers Union, requires Palermo Villa, Inc. to

Immediately offer all eight employees the opportunity to return to their previous jobs;
Award a lump sum payment for back pay to all eight employees within two weeks;
Post a notice inside the factory explaining that Palermo’s will commit to not breaking the law again when it comes to workers rights to form a union. The notice to current employees will also outline the terms of the settlement agreement, and must be posted in multiple languages for 60 days.

The settlement agreement vindicates employee claims that Palermo Pizza violated federal labor laws meant to protect workers rights to form a union. Beyond illegal terminations, some of the other serious violations include:

Palermo’s threatened employees with reprisals because of their union and/or protected concerted activities.

Palermo’s told employees who were attempting to strike that they could not leave the facility, and in fact physically blocked the attempts of employees to exit the facility.

Palermo’s threatened to discharge employees for engaging in protected concerted and/or union activities.

Palermo’s created the impression that it was engaged in the surveillance of employees’ union and/or protected concerted activities.

On or about June 1, 2012 and continuing until on or about June 8, 2012 and on multiple other dates set forth, Palermo’s refused to allow employees to work and/or discharged them in retaliation for their actual and/or perceived union/and or protected concerted activities.

The United Steelworkers Union (USW) has been working closely with both the current employees inside Palermo’s and with the fired immigrant workers.

USW District 2 Director Mike Bolton described the settlement as both a positive development, and a disappointment. “It took much too long to get even this small bit of justice for these workers. And unfortunately, they will be going back to jobs where union busters have created such an atmosphere of fear and intimidation that a democratic election is not possible. So for Palermo's to claim they want a union election is a travesty of justice - they know that 75% of employees already expressed support for a union when they signed a petition calling for union representation over than a year ago, and that most of those workers - more than 100 former employees - will never get to vote because they were fired for speaking out.”

Although today's agreement will see eight fired employees receive full compensation for their lost wages and the opportunity to return to their jobs, numerous issues related to the labor dispute at Palermo Villa remain outstanding.

There is a pending NRLB settlement with BG Staffing, a temp agency that was the employer for numerous fired union supporters.
The NLRB is currently investigating recent charges that Palermo's illegally fired an African-American employee who was engaged in pro-union activity at work.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is expected to open an investigation into Palermo's refusal to release federally mandated records of injuries which have been requested by a lawfully designated representative of numerous employees.
Palermo's has so far refused requests from elected officials to provide evidence that they fulfilled promises to create family supporting jobs with some of the $48 million in taxpayer money they have received in recent years, including loans they received via the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.



###

[Monk06]

4. If you are going to use mafia tactics against your employees, then Palermo is the perfect brand name

"We'll give you and offer you can't refuse." I love that they extorted $48 M from the Wisconsin State government. That's RICO material right there, except there is no RICO anymore.

[Kingofalldems]

2. Kick and Rec for the workers

[Teamster Jeff]

3. Kick & Rec