Many Languages One Voice
  • Home | MLOV
    • History of MLOV
    • Board
    • Staff
  • Our Work
    • DC Immigrant Organizing Center
    • Language Access Advocacy
    • Know Your Rights Trainings
    • Worker Justice Organizing
    • Youth Justice Organizing >
      • Youth Action Team
      • SMART Blog
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Emergency Preparedness Plan Toolkit >
      • Toolkit Contents
    • Education Justice Resources
    • Report: "Prescription for Inequity"
    • "I Speak" Cards
  • Press
  • Get Involved
    • Job Openings
    • Volunteer
    • Subscribe to our Mailing List!
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
  • La Esquina

MLOV Statement on 9 Whole Foods Managers Fired for Bonus Theft in the DMV

12/26/2016

13 Comments

 

​Despite managerial theft scheme, worker unjustly terminated by P Street manager remains without job

[abajo en español]

As Washington, D.C. resident Julia Flores continues to fight for her reinstatement to her dishwashing job at Whole Foods that she held for fifteen years, new revelations have come to light about the nine area Whole Foods managers who were recently fired for stealing bonuses from workers as part of an employee rewards-system manipulation scheme.

“There are clearly layered institutional problems at Whole Foods and they are devastating to workers who now no longer have a job, a way to make rent, or pay the bills,” said Hannah Kane, MLOV worker justice organizer.

We have also learned that Victor Vasquez, the 1413 P St NW store manager who fired Julia Flores, is no longer working at the store. Given this development, it is more urgent than ever that Julia be reinstated to the job to which she dedicated fifteen years of her life.

Two of Flores’ former coworkers, one of whom remains employed at the 1413 P St NW Whole Foods, have filed a class action lawsuit regarding the bonus theft. The suit alleges: “This illicit corporate practice of shifting labor costs was a decision made at the executive level by Whole Foods, and it was designed to pad company profits by literally stealing the bonuses earned by Defendants’ own employees.” The class action lawsuit seeks $200 million in punitive damages and triple unpaid wages.

The lawsuit illustrates the clear pattern at Whole Foods of unjustly terminating employees. One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, also a former employee of the 1413 P St NW location, alleges that he “...entered into a forced resignation, pursuant to an alleged reduction in force, from his employment…”

Another former employee, Rosario Gomez, has alleged that she was unjustly fired after working at Whole Foods for ten years. “I always gave them my best, and they fired me and called me a thief,” she says in a video, stating that she was terminated when she took home flowers that were going to be thrown away.

Flores’ experience fits Whole Foods’ pattern of retaliatory termination of workers based on pretext. Flores was an outspoken advocate for better working conditions for herself and her coworkers, and had filed a workers’ compensation claim for a workplace injury that she suffered over the summer. Whole Foods’ internal appeals process has offered no solution to protect Flores from allegations that we believe were made with the intention to fire her in retaliation for defending her rights and the rights of her coworkers.

Flores’ unjust firing cannot stand. We call on Whole Foods to be held accountable for its policies and to reinstate Julia Flores to her position as a dishwasher with her same level of wages and benefits as before, and to be compensated for the wages that she has lost since she was fired.

“Because Whole Foods retained the budget surplus for its own benefit, rather than pay the budget surplus to its employees as it agreed, Whole Foods unjustly enriched itself at the expense of their employees,” states the pending class action lawsuit. We call on Whole Foods to take this one, small step to correct these injustices by reinstating Julia Flores to her job.

---

Comunicado de MLOV sobre los 9 Gerentes de Whole Foods Despedidos por Robo de Bonos en el area de Washington, Maryland y Virginia

A pesar del plan del robo por parte de los gerentes, la trabajadora despedida injustamente de la tienda en la P Street se ha quedado sin su trabajo

Mientras la residente de Washington, D.C. Julia Flores sigue luchando para que le regresen a su trabajo como dishwasher en Whole Foods, donde ha trabajado por quince años, han salido nuevas revelaciones a la luz acerca del despido reciente de nueve gerentes de Whole Foods, despedidos por robar los bonos de los trabajadores como parte de un plan de manipular un sistema de bonos como recompensa de Whole Foods.

“Claramente hay profundos problemas institucionales en Whole Foods que son devastadores para sus trabajadores que se han quedado sin trabajo, sin la manera de pagar su renta o sus demás gastos,” dice Hannah Kane, organizadora por la justicia laboral con Mil Idiomas Una Voz (MLOV).

También hemos aprendido que Victor Vasquez, el gerente de la tienda en la 1413 P St NW que despidió a Julia Flores, ya no está trabajando en la tienda. Dado esta noticia, es más urgente ahora que nunca que le regresemos a Julia al trabajo al cual se ha dedicado quince años de vida.

Dos ex-compañeros de trabajo de Flores, uno que sigue trabajando en la tienda en la 1413 P St NW, han puesto una demanda colectiva acerca del robo de los bonos. Dice la demanda: “Esa práctica ilícita de la corporación de mover los gastos laborales fue una decisión hecha al nivel ejecutivo por parte de Whole Foods, y se hizo para aumentar las ganancias de la corporación al literalmente robar los bonos ganados por los propios empleados del Demandado.” La demanda intenta demandar $200 millones en daños punitivos y el triple del salario robado.

La demanda también pinta el patrón claro de whole Foods de despedir a sus trabajadores injustamente. Uno de los demandantes en la demanda, también un ex-empleado de la tienda en la 1413 P St NW, dice que el… “entro en un renuncio forzado, conforme a una supuesta baja de personal, de su trabajo…”

Otra ex-empleada, Rosario Gomez, dice que ella fue despedida injustamente después de trabajar en Whole Foods por diez años. “Siempre di lo mejor de mi, y me corrieron por ladrona,” ella dice en un video, diciendo que le despidieron cuando ella llevaba a casa unas flores que se iban a tirar a la basura.

La experiencia de Flores cabe con el patrón de Whole Foods de botar a las personas en represalia basada en pretextos. Flores fue una luchadora por mejores condiciones de trabajo por sí misma y los demás trabajadores, y había puesto un reclamo por un accidente laboral que sufrió durante el verano. El proceso interno de apelaciones de Whole Foods no ha dado ninguna solución para proteger a Flores de esas alegaciones, las cuales creemos que se hizo con el propósito de despedirla en represalia por defender a sus derechos y los derechos de sus compañeros de trabajo.

El despido injusto de Flores no puede seguir vigente. Exigimos que Whole Foods sea responsable por sus pólizas y que le regresen a Julia Flores a su trabajo, con el mismo nivel de pago y beneficios que gozaba antes, y que le recompensen por el pago que ha perdido desde su despido.

“Como Whole Foods guardaba la ganancia para su propio beneficio, en vez de pagar esos bonos a sus empleados como se había acordado, Whole Foods injustamente se enriqueció a sí mismo en las espaldas de sus empleados,” dice la demanda colectiva pendiente. Le exigimos que Whole Foods tome este paso pequeño para corregir esas injusticias al regresar a Julia Flores a su trabajo.

​
13 Comments
finex cast iron cook ware link
1/13/2017 10:11:53 pm

Accusing someone for stealing a trash? Sounds bad. It was just a small thing, a flower that were going to be thrown away.

Reply
Social book link
1/30/2017 03:34:49 am

Your post is soo useful for me, thanks for your important post. for more details visit to my web site http://www.mycarrental.com.sg/

Reply
abonnement xbox live link
4/22/2017 09:16:39 am

For best xbox gaming try our free xbox live codes and feel free about spend money for xbox live membership.

Reply
techills link
5/9/2017 10:30:25 am

Accusing someone for stealing a trash?

Reply
Gas demand and supply in India link
5/17/2017 03:21:09 am

Great post!
Amazingly informative and helpful post.
everything is good enough and website is very well designed
well! week writing stay blessed
thank you for sharing this great article

Reply
Towfiq link
6/4/2017 11:42:50 am

Really amzing <a href="http://aussiessayservices.com/assignmenthelps-com-au-review/">assignment helps review</a> for us. I will visit again that blog. So, keep it up

Reply
July 2017 Calendar US Holidays link
6/17/2017 05:46:27 am

July Month 2017 Calendar Images With USA Holidays List Important Days and Dates Mentioned on Latest July Calendar

Reply
Gary Sweeney link
6/19/2017 07:15:31 am

Nice sharing, love to reading blog content.

Reply
australianassignmenthelp.com reviews link
12/1/2017 08:32:08 am

Australianassignmenthelp We have professional writers from Australia. This native feature provides students with a competitive edge, as it is essential that writers must be aware of Australian education. Read reviews at- http://topassignmentreviews.com/review/australianassignmenthelp-com

Reply
shiwani link
1/29/2018 12:15:16 am

This is a very informative and helpful post, very honest and practical advise. Thank you so much for a detailed post. It's very helpful for all .Specially this complete information will be helping to all. Thanks!

Reply
academic writing service link
2/15/2018 05:59:47 am

I discovered your site ideal for me. It consists of wonderful and useful posts Many thanks for the exciting blog posting! Simply put your blog post to my favorite blog list and will look forward for additional updates thank you from. https://www.paperown.com/academic-writing

Reply
graceglobal link
4/30/2018 01:09:09 pm


It's an entirely excellent and constructive post. I'm trying to find some help. And finally, I found it here.

Reply
Rina link
9/21/2018 07:26:26 am

Wow! This could be one particular of the most beneficial blogs We’ve ever arrive across on this subject. Basically Wonderful.
Chartered accountant: www.raaas.com

Reply



Leave a Reply.

If you would like to see a copy of our governing documents and/or Form 1023, please contact us at 202-838-6568.