November 27, 2024 ✦ OnLabor

In today’s news and commentary, supermarket chains are accused of collusion in a class action lawsuit, Boston residents and doctors organize, and a Mississippi judge blocks enforcement of a DOL rule protecting farm workers.

A Colorado supermarket worker is suing Kroger and Albertsons, accusing the supermarket chains of collaborating during a strike at King Soopers, a Kroger-owned company, in a way that reduced unions’ bargaining power. The proposed class action lawsuit was filed Monday in Colorado state court and follows a similar lawsuit filed by the Colorado Attorney General. In 2022, members of UFCW Local 7 went on strike at King Soopers stores in Colorado for ten days. The complaint accuses Albertsons of agreeing not to hire striking workers or solicit Kroger customers. Kroger and Albertsons are two of the largest grocery companies in the United States and are looking to merge. The Federal Trade Commission tried to block the merger.

Residents and physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center filed for an NLRB election Thursday. The Committee of Interns and Residents, an affiliate of the SEIU, would represent the 850-member unit. The Beth Israel election is one of several organizing campaigns among medical professionals in the Boston area: Mass General Brigham physicians, Cambridge Health Alliance clinicians, and residents and fellows at hospitals affiliated with Brown Medical School have all filed for elections in the last month. Residents and employees at Mass General are currently negotiating their first contract after voting to unionize in June.

A Mississippi federal judge has blocked enforcement of DOL organizational protections for farmworkers on temporary visas. The DOL’s Farm Worker Protection Rule, adopted in June, extended certain workplace protections to workers not covered by the National Labor Relations Act. However, agricultural industry groups have repeatedly challenged the rule and have now obtained three injunctions against its enforcement. In August, a federal district court in Georgia issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the rule in 17 Republican-led states. Earlier this week, the Eastern District of Kentucky blocked the rule in four states and for members of certain agricultural trade groups.