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MOM's Organic Market employees seek removal of UFCW Local 400 union

Angel J. Valencia | Staff Attorney (2018-Present) | NRTWLD&EF, Inc

By Sky Industry News

Nov 7, 2024

Employees at MOM’s Organic Market in College Park, Maryland, are seeking to remove United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 union officials from their store. Maria Sanya Dobbins, an employee leading the effort, has submitted a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with assistance from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys.

The NLRB oversees federal labor law enforcement, including union certification and decertification elections. Dobbins' petition reportedly contains enough signatures to trigger a vote under the National Labor Relations Act. The proposed vote would involve all full-time and regular part-time employees at the College Park location.

Maryland does not have Right to Work protections for private sector workers, allowing UFCW officials to require union dues or fees as employment conditions. A successful decertification vote would remove these obligations and prevent union monopoly bargaining contracts.

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Dobbins stated, “I have been working for MOM’s for 19 years. We have an understanding management team that has always been there for us and our families. We do not need a union to come and take money out of our paycheck when we have the best management team.”

This is not an isolated incident; DC-area Union Kitchen employees also attempted to remove UFCW Local 400 earlier this year but faced obstacles despite a majority-backed vote.

Dobbins and her colleagues may encounter similar challenges due to recent changes by the Biden-Harris NLRB that make it harder for workers to decertify unions. These changes allow union officials more leeway in using allegations against employers—known as "blocking charges"—to delay or stop decertification votes.

Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, commented on these developments: “UFCW Local 400 officials have a track record of stifling the will of the workers they claim to ‘represent,’ and the Biden-Harris NLRB’s cynical policy shifts have unfortunately given them more ways to do that.” He emphasized the importance of secret ballot votes and Right to Work protections for employees opposing unwanted unions.