Grocery Union Leader and Others React to Anti-Labor Language in New Seasons Market Handbook

WWeek:

Brady has repeatedly said she wrote New Seasons' first employee handbook in 2000. The first bound, published employee handbook distributed to workers in March 2001 included controversial language about the non-union company's views of organized labor.

The handbook says New Seasons sought to "avoid disruption and petitioning by extremist groups such as anti-human rights organizations and by promoters of the old style 'company vs. union employee' relations system."

"I find that paragraph very disturbing. It implies that unions are an old style archaic, institutions. I would argue that in these economic times, unions are needed more than ever," says Jeff Anderson secretary treasurer of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555. "The language is very troubling because a progressive is a progressive actors a range of issues. The struggle for labor rights should not be dismissed lightly."

... Steve Novick, who is seeking the City Council seat that Commissioner Randy Leonard is vacating, thinks Brady still has some explaining to do...

"This episode raises two questions: if she's not anti-union, why did she allow that language to stay in the manual for years during which she says she was the de facto human resources manager?," Novick says. "And if she knows that was wrong, why isn't she stepping up to take some responsibility, rather than letting her husband try to take all the blame?"

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