COLLEGE PARK, Md. (February 5, 2025) – Today, United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 Union, which represents employees at MOM’s Organic Market in College Park, Md., announced it has reached a settlement with the company over its unlawful discrimination against employees supportive of the union at the store.
“This was a long time coming, but we refused to give up,” said Laura Jackson, who goes by LJ and has worked at MOM’s in College Park for three years. “They tried everything to intimidate us and stop us from exercising our rights, but we stuck together as a union, stood up to management, and won what we were rightfully owed. It just goes to show what a difference a union can make for workers like me.”
Only two weeks after workers at the College Park location overwhelmingly voted to unionize, MOM’s Organic Market sent a company-wide email announcing pay raises and other improvements for all employees except those at the newly unionized store, in violation of federal law prohibiting such discrimination.
The union filed an unfair labor practice charge against MOM’s Organic Market with the National Labor Relations Board to compel the grocer to comply with federal law and provide the same benefits to union employees at the College Park store.
The charges ultimately resulted in a $17,302.67 settlement with the company to compensate 74 victims who were wrongfully denied pay increases for hours worked on weekends and holidays. The compensation provides back pay plus interest for the impacted workers.
“Given its reputation and purported values, we expected much better from MOM’s Organic Market,” said Mark Federici, President of UFCW Local 400, “so we were especially disappointed that the company chose to violate the law and discriminate against its own employees. But no matter the employer, our union will always fight to protect our members’ rights and hold bosses accountable for breaking the law.”
In November, the College Park workers resoundingly voted down an effort to decertify the union at the store and are currently in negotiations with the company for their first union contract.
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United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 represents 35,000 members working in the grocery, retail, health care, food processing, service and other industries in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. www.ufcw400.org