SAN JOSE, California — Amy’s Kitchen, the nation’s high maker of vegetarian frozen and canned meals, in latest months has grappled with offended feedback from customers and requires boycotts which are at odds with its family-run, moral fame, with workers alleging unsafe circumstances, accidents and makes an attempt to cease unionization.
On Monday, workers at its latest plant in San Jose, California, stated they have been abruptly instructed that the plant was closing as a result of it was shedding cash attributable to inflation.
Six workers at the San Jose factory, which had solely been open since 2021, instructed NBC News they’ve skilled demeaning conduct by supervisors and unsafe circumstances. In interviews in the weeks main as much as the plant’s sudden closure, and in extra interviews on Monday, 4 of these workers stated there was an unofficial coverage that they may not use the toilet exterior lunch and different designated break occasions.
Employees at the company’s manufacturing headquarters not far-off in Santa Rosa, California, have stated they have been topic to unsafe manufacturing quotas and repetitive movement accidents, in accordance with earlier reporting by NBC News. In January, one employee filed a proper grievance on behalf of all workers at the Santa Rosa factory with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which stated its investigation is ongoing.
Amy’s Kitchen, responding to the earlier adverse publicity from each the Santa Rosa and San Jose factories, wrote in a post on its website earlier this 12 months that allegations of unsafe employee circumstances, denial of toilet breaks, union-busting and lack of entry to ingesting water have been fully false. Reached by e-mail one week in the past, CEO and co-founder Andy Berliner referred NBC News to company spokesman Paul Schiefer, who declined to touch upon the allegations workers shared with NBC News. When requested concerning the motive for the plant closure, he hooked up an announcement given to reporters citing inflation and provide chain points however didn’t elaborate.
Raul Vargas stated he confirmed as much as work at the San Jose plant at 3 a.m. on Monday for his typical 12 hour shift doing kitchen prep work. It appeared like a standard day, he stated. But slightly earlier than 7 a.m., he and others in the morning shift stated they have been ushered right into a hallway by the breakroom for a gathering.
There, the factory’s plant supervisor and a number of other representatives from Human Resources, together with Spanish and Vietnamese language translators, stated the plant was closing. Workers have been instructed to seize their private belongings and depart, and {that a} taxi or Uber could be referred to as for them if they didn’t have a experience again, in accordance with Vargas and different workers laid off on Monday morning.
“We regret to inform you that your position will be eliminated on September 16, 2022, however you are being relieved of your duties effective July 19, 2022,” says a letter distributed to workers. Workers additionally obtained paperwork with directions on learn how to apply for unemployment and for work at different Amy’s Kitchen places. The paperwork, which have been reviewed by NBC News, additionally listed a web site for individuals feeling “stressed or depressed.”
Vargas had left a job at a homeless shelter to work for Amy’s Kitchen final October and stated the company had not too long ago bought new gear for his division. “To me, it doesn’t make sense. You’re going to invest in your business and then you shut it down?” he stated.
The plant’s sudden closure comes after a union group representing the San Jose workers, Unite Here Local 19, filed multiple unfair labor practice charges towards Amy’s Kitchen to the National Labor Relations Board on June 1, alleging that the workers in San Jose have been fired or disciplined for attempting to arrange a union.
In May, executives introduced mariachi musicians to the factories as a part of an annual Workers Appreciation Day. In speeches that executives and the household behind Amy’s Kitchen gave to factory workers in Santa Rosa shortly earlier than the celebration, they acknowledged some missteps and issues retaining workers. But in addition they urged that bringing extra public consideration to labor circumstances at Amy’s Kitchen could be divisive. NBC News obtained an audio recording of the assembly.
“We’ve had a lot of stories that talk about Amy’s in a negative way,” Schiefer instructed the workers. “We’ve had boycotts asking people not to buy our products. We’ve had OSHA complaints. We’ve had scare tactics for our customers. And really, it’s not right. It’s not necessary. And it’s not needed.”
Unexpected job loss and complaints over working circumstances
Amy’s Kitchen opened the plant in San Jose, its fourth, to fulfill pandemic-fueled demand for wholesome and simple meals. At the grand opening in 2021, the San Jose mayor praised the company for bringing extra jobs to the realm. The company said it deliberate to rent 300 workers.
On Monday afternoon, an indication saying that Amy’s Kitchen was hiring was nonetheless hanging exterior the factory. A safety guard onsite handed reporters paperwork with a pre-written assertion. “Despite the company’s substantial investment in plant improvements, the facility has been unable to overcome current economic hurdles including abrupt price increases on goods and supply chain disruptions,” it reads in half.
The paperwork additionally says that staff “have remained top of mind during this realignment. In addition to continuing employees’ salaries and benefits during this transition, we have committed to provide all impacted employees with career placement assistance.”
Theresa Varela Sandoval stated she began her first day of labor at Amy’s Kitchen on May 3 of this 12 months, in the factory’s sanitation division. She left her earlier job in Trans Pacific as a result of the situation of the Amy’s Kitchen plant was solely 5 minutes from her house. She stated she confirmed as much as work at 6 a.m. and obtained dressed in her work boots and clothes, with none indication that it was her final day.
In an interview after being laid off, she started to cry when contemplating her future plans. She stated she is counting on her former coworkers to assist her apply for a brand new job on-line.
Hilde Garda stated she started working in the sanitation division on June 26 and had not too long ago rented a room in San Jose, which is an hour away from her household’s house in Los Banos. She was relieved to search out the job as a result of she stated she struggles with studying and writing.
For some workers, their time at the plant was fraught.
Maricela, who requested to not use her full identify as a result of she is worried it might hurt her seek for a brand new job, stated she took a job baking pizza crusts at the San Jose factory in February. The subsequent 4 months left her feeling harassed and mistreated, she stated.
The function was imagined to require a month of coaching, she stated. Instead, Maricela stated her coaching was completed after three days. Working 12-hour shifts by the pizza oven whereas it was set at 570 levels made Maricela thirsty, however she stated she restricted her water consumption out of concern of getting to make use of the restroom. “There was nobody to cover me, and my break and lunch were the times that I had to go to the bathroom,” she stated a supervisor instructed her.
Two different former workers, Ruby Luna and Hector Guardado, stated they observed that the pizza oven space the place Maricela labored was remoted, scorching and poorly ventilated. Maricela stated her supervisor additionally repeatedly criticized her all through the time she labored there for conversing with co-workers and for carrying fragrance, despite the fact that she says she wasn’t carrying any.
Maricela despatched NBC News pictures of her Amy’s Kitchen paychecks and of a scar on her neck, which she stated is a burn from a scorching plate that flew at her when the oven malfunctioned. Luna, who left a job at Goodwill to work at Amy’s Kitchen final December, noticed Maricela shortly after the incident and stated that supervisors have been ridiculing her for crying. She stated she believes that Maricela was mistreated as a result of she had spoken up about her discomfort.
Luna shared medical paperwork exhibiting that she pulled a muscle in her neck in February, which she stated was attributable to the repetitive actions of packaging bins day after day. When she requested day without work to get well, she stated Human Resources gave her a “point,” below a system that Amy’s Kitchen makes use of to penalize workers. Once a employee receives 15 factors, they’re fired, in accordance with disciplinary paperwork NBC News obtained.
Employees who request a day without work with out offering three working days discover are given two factors. The paperwork was not confirmed by the company, which didn’t reply to questions on it. The paperwork don’t make clear what penalties a employee might face if they’re sick or injured throughout the three-day discover window. Workers stated the coverage discourages them from taking sick days.
“Because the policy says you’re going to get points, you have to show up sick or not,” Vargas stated.
Additionally, “we don’t get to see how many points we have left until we’re fired,” stated Luna.
Another employee named Xenia Rodriguez Gonzalez stated that when workers stepped off the road to make use of the restroom, some supervisors start counting down the time they’re gone, with out giving steering on how a lot time is allotted.
“They punish us for anything that they don’t like by giving us points,” Gonzalez stated.
Cecilia Luna Ojeda has labored at the Amy’s Kitchen plant in Santa Rosa for practically 20 years and is attempting to persuade co-workers there to unionize. In January, Ojeda filed an official grievance with the assistance of the Teamsters on behalf of all workers at the Santa Rosa plant, describing manufacturing quotas which are too excessive, repetitive movement accidents, restricted entry to loos and different alleged security violations.
Janet Barcenas, who additionally works at the Santa Rosa plant and is attempting to arrange co-workers, stated {that a} supervisor not too long ago instructed her that the company was testing robots to switch a part of the workforce. The company didn’t reply to a query concerning the allegation.
Amy’s Kitchen has beforehand denied allegations that it has punished workers for defending themselves or unionizing. “Amy’s Kitchen would never dismiss an employee for participating in union activities, and if at some point the majority of the company’s workforce chooses to unionize in a free and fair election, we will respect their decision,” the company told Bloomberg News in June.
‘Let’s strive arduous to make it a very comfortable place’
Amy’s Kitchen has a fame as a socially accountable company and continues to be helmed by founders Andy and Rachel Berliner, who named it after their daughter Amy once they began it in 1987. The household stresses a message of “love” in client advertising and marketing, as effectively as in talks with workers.
In the assembly with factory workers in Santa Rosa shortly earlier than the Workers Appreciation Day celebration, Andy Berliner pressured the company’s humble beginnings and stated the previous few years haven’t at all times been straightforward. “You can imagine with four plants … how hard it was to pay all those bills,” he stated, in accordance with the recording.
He additionally instructed workers that in relation to well being care, “we spend almost $17,500 per employee every year on insurance.”
Before the lay-offs, workers from each San Jose and Santa Rosa described Berliner as a pleasant man, however they believed that the company might afford to do extra to help its workforce. Executives have beforehand stated that the company expected to make $600 million in income in 2020. Federal Aviation Administration data show {that a} personal jet has been registered to Amy’s Kitchen since 2019. In addition to its 4 manufacturing vegetation and a neighborhood chain of fast-food eating places, the company is reportedly working on a fifth property in New York state that would include a producing plant as effectively as a 200,000-square-foot pavilion for use for non secular gatherings.
Berliner took over as CEO at the top of 2021, after beforehand being government chairman, and he cited employee complaints as the rationale. “The company started to go from being collaborative, bottom up, to top down. We weren’t listening enough to all of you,” Berliner stated.
Injuries attributable to quick, repetitive actions have been the chief grievance from workers interviewed by NBC News since late final 12 months. Workers additionally described receiving insufficient medical care by way of a clinic the place Amy’s despatched them or by way of employee’s compensation. In their speeches at the May assembly, the company executives alluded to accidents. “We’re working on specific projects that will help with repetitive motion,” one unidentified individual introduced to the workers, with out elaborating additional.
“If someone is injured at work, we kind of lose control. It goes to some agency. We’re looking at different alternatives,” Berliner stated later at the identical assembly a couple of plan that would ship injured workers to an on-site clinic. “But better yet, nobody gets injured,” he concluded.
As for the union push, Berliner stated: “We’re together at work eight to 10 hours a day, some of you more … so let’s try hard to make it a really happy place, whatever your opinions are … Someone likes unions, someone doesn’t like the union, leave that all behind. Talk about things you all like. Like food, shopping for the ladies, music, things like that. I’m happy when you’re happy. So please be happy.”
Many workers laid off on Monday, nevertheless, are involved about discovering new jobs.
While Luna stated she plans to return to high school subsequent month and is hopeful about discovering work, others who’ve disabilities or don’t have transportation to get to work have far fewer choices. “I’m just more worried right now about a lot of my older coworkers,” Luna stated.