Progressive Vegan Company Caught Using Union Busting Tactics w/ David Dayen

No Evil Foods is a plant based meat company in Asheville North Carolina. On the surface they appear to embody progressive values. However, when their workers tried to form a union, this lefty vegan company was less than enthusiastic. Now they are employing common union-busting tactics to stop the workers from organizing. This interview previously aired on Peacock on August 16, 2021. Sam Seder discusses No Evil Foods' union-busting with The American Prospect's David Dayen.

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Sam Seder: Tell us a little bit about this company it is no evil foods what can you tell us about no evil foods.

David Dayen: Well some Twitter followers have said that they were just missing a comma. It was just no comma evil foods. But No Evil Foods is a vegan meat company like a plant-based meat company and at this time it was based in Weaverville North Carolina which is near Asheville. It had a production facility of roughly 55 to 60 employees that were making these things. To start up it's been around for five years or so it really broke through in 2019 when it increased the number of stores that you could buy it in. To about 5,000 stores and it really has this kind of progressive message like its branding and it's sort of cultural imprimatur is very very progressive. They have one brand of fake chicken called comrade cluck. they have another one a chorizo fake chorizo product called el Zapatista. actually, it was called that until the Zapatistas actually found out about it and had to change the name. But so they brand themselves as very committed to kind of social justice and you know that kind of thing. So obviously it was interesting when the workers decided okay well then we want a union.

Sam Seder: And you know we've seen this type of situation in other venues. In fact this very program runs on The Choice from MSNBC. MSNBC of course is branded as a left-leaning liberal network. And they have been there's a union drive at the at MSNBC as well as on The Choice. And I should say just full disclosure we are we license our show to them. we don't have any employees hereof MSNBC or The Choice. But nevertheless the and the so what could be met? So in this instance and I think this is consistent with MSNBC and The Choice as well as no evil foods. What is the response to the potential responses of management when workers come and say you know we have decided that we want a union?

David Dayen: I think one of the strengths of management's position was they were able to say “hey we love we like unions, in theory, you know we're all for worker justice and we try to treat you guys right” but then they pivot to say we just don't think it's right for this business at this time.

Sam: Well before you get into what their specific response was I’m asking what are the options that an employer has if their employees come? I mean just sort of just so that people understand the different attacks that could be taken at that moment.

David: Right understood so last I believe was the summer of 2019 when this all started so when a majority of workers say we are signing cards. We want you to know that consider joining a union the company can voluntarily say yes. We will allow you to join the union we will immediately enter into negotiations over collective bargaining. We can voluntarily allow that. The other option is well no you have to have a vote now you have to have a vote of the workers to decide by majority vote whether or not they want the union to be part of our process. And at that point only after then will we engage in bargaining. And of course, no evil foods opted for the latter. They forced a national labor relations board election that election didn't take place until February 2020. And in that time between the summer of 2019 and February 2020, they hired a law firm that was known for union avoidance campaigns. That's what they call union-busting nowadays. And among their many strategies was to hold these captive audience meetings where employees it was mandatory for them to show up on work time. They took time off the production line. went to these meetings that there were several meetings a week in the lead up to the election.