Board Issues Decision in Smith Packing, Inc., 2018-CE-048-SAL (46 ALRB No. 3)
In this case, a group of farmworkers engaged in a work stoppage to protest broken equipment that was causing harvested produce to fall and which could not thereafter be packed, resulting in reduced pay for the workers. The ALJ concluded the employer unlawfully terminated the workers in response to their protected concerted activity, engaging in a work stoppage due to the broken equipment and loss of wages. The employer filed exceptions, primarily alleging the workers were not terminated but rather voluntarily quit. The Board affirmed the ALJ’s findings that the employer unlawfully terminated the workers.
The Board’s decision is available here.