...Organizer reinstated
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to me, come up to me and tell me.”
Six weeks in, Breadsong offered to
make Barragan full-time and asked her
to resubmit her application. She de-
cided to come clean about her Fred
Meyer bakery experience. That didn’t
faze Breadsong; Barragan was a good
worker.
By September, Barragan had talked
with most of her co-workers, even the
temps, and a majority signed union au-
thorization cards. The campaign was
completely undercover.
The union planned to wait until after
Christmas to request a union election,
but an enthusiastic pro-union worker
slipped up and mentioned a recent
union meeting in front of a manager.
Barragan wasn’t sure if the slip was go-
ing to blow the union’s cover, but Local
114 didn’t want to take any chances,
and filed a petition Nov. 7 asking the
National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB), to oversee a union election.
It took Breadsong managers com-
pletely by surprise that a union cam-
paign was afoot.
The reaction was swift. Managers
began mandatory two-on-one inter-
views, calling in workers one by one to
a small conference room. Barragan was
the last to be called, on Nov. 17.
Human resources manager Linda
Sewall did the talking while plant man-
ager Lou Flores listened.
“We’ve heard some employees are
talking about a union,” Sewall said, in
Barragan’s recollection. “We’d like to
ask you some questions. What have
you heard, what have other employees
said, and what if anything has the union
promised you?”
Yes, Barragan told them, she knew
about the campaign, and it was no won-
der folks were interested in a union:
The wages stink, and nobody can af-
ford the insurance the company pro-
vides. Barragan stuck to her character,
but didn’t cop to her role.
Management was still in the dark
about who the union ringleader was,
and had no idea they had a union salt in
their employ.
Two weeks later, looking at govern-
ment records for the union that their
employees were seeking to join, a
Breadsong manager discovered the
name of their experienced mixer —
Georgene Barragan — on the previous
year’s list of Local 114 officers.
On Dec. 5 she was called in for an-
other meeting with Sewall and Flores.
They showed Barragan her job applica-
tion. Was there any relevant part of her
work history she’d failed to disclose?
No, she replied. They pushed the
union’s government filing across the
desk. What about this?
Barragan showed no emotion. She
hadn’t been an employee of the union,
she said.
Sewall and Flores told her she was
suspended without pay pending inves-
tigation.
“You can’t do this,” Barragan told
them. “What you are doing is an unfair
labor practice. It’s against the law.”
They told her they’d escort her to her
locker to get her things; if she refused to
leave of her own accord, they’d call the
police and have her removed.
Barragan remembers it as a walk of
shame, escorted by managers past her
co-workers. By now her poker face was
gone; she was upset. Co-workers could
tell what was happening. One gave her
a hug. Another shook her hand. It was
an emotional moment.
Two days later, Dec. 7, Sewall called
to tell Barragan she was being termi-
nated for not revealing her union status.
With the union ringleader identified
and eliminated, management now be-
gan almost daily anti-union meetings,
where they showed anti-union propa-
ganda videos and handed out fliers
warning workers about the dues they’d
have to pay to “union bosses.”
The union filed an unfair labor prac-
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tice charge with the NLRB on Dec. 17,
and sought to block the election, which
had been scheduled for Dec. 19. Bar-
ragan had been terminated because she
engaged in union activities, the union
charged; that was meant to discourage
other employees from doing the same.
Management conduct had poisoned
the atmosphere, the union said, mak-
ing it impossible for workers to express
freely whether they wanted union rep-
resentation or not.
NLRB agent Mike Roche investi-
gated the union complaint and took
Barragan’s testimony. Management
hadn’t trumped up any work-related
mistake on her part — they had admit-
ted that failing to disclose her union af-
filiation was the reason for her termi-
nation. That made it a pretty cut and
dry case. The NLRB issued a formal
complaint and scheduled a May 28
hearing before a federal administrative
law judge.
In March, Breadsong gave workers
wage increases of up to $3.50 an hour.
That too is illegal, in the context of a
union drive, because it’s well-under-
stood as an attempt to take the steam
out of support for the union by remov-
ing wage complaints. Local 114 filed
another charge; the union didn’t want
Breadsong workers to lose the raises,
but wanted to make it clear to the em-
ployees what the raise was really
about.
Before the hearing took place, at-
torneys for Cargill decided to settle all
charges. Under the terms of the settle-
ment, Barragan will return to work at
Breadsong June 24.
“We’re going to have a full-time
union organizer in the plant,” Lansing
said.
Management agreed to post a 60-
day notice in English, Spanish, and
Bosnian promising not to discriminate
against employees for supporting the
union and explaining that Barragan is
being reinstated.
“We will not suspend you and/or
fire you if you don’t want to tell us on
your employment application about
your employment and/or activities
with or for ... the Union,” the notice
says.
The notice also promises in the fu-
ture not to do anything that interferes
with employees right to “form, join or
assist a union,” and “act together with
other employees for your benefit and
protection.”
“We expect the company to comply
with the law and respect their employ-
ees’ rights to make a decision about the
union,” said Lansing, who had high
praise for the role the NLRB played in
the settlement.
Barragan said she’s looking forward
to returning, and plans to stay at Bread-
song until her co-workers approve their
first union contract.
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