Prof. Charlotte Garden Quoted in the Chicago Tribune About Union Suppression at Portillo’s

Professor Charlotte Garden, Julius E. Davis Professor of Law, was quoted in the Chicago Tribune about the restaurant chain Portillo’s disputing union-organizing votes at two of its food preparation facilities. The chain known for Chicago-style hot dogs and beef sandwiches was locally owned in Chicago, but seeking national growth, was sold to a private equity firm. But since its IPO three years ago, its stock has dropped, there are questions about the quality of its food, and it’s fighting efforts by some workers to unionize claiming the organizers illegally promised immigration benefits to workers if they voted to unionize. The National Labor Relations Board has since upheld the workers’ vote to unionize three times. In addition, the NLRB alleged Portillo’s had illegally threatened workers for their union activity at one of its facilities, including by saying they could lose their jobs. The company responded by denying the allegations and arguing that the structure of the agency itself — the enforcement body for labor law in the U.S. — is unconstitutional. “These appeals are not tremendously costly,” Prof. Garden said of Portillo’s repeated attempts to get the union election results tossed out. Many employers make the calculated decision to pay their lawyers rather than bargain with a union, she said, particularly when they have many locations. “They are afraid of the demonstration effect,” she said, adding that if workers in one location bargain a contract and improve their wages or working conditions, at a greater cost to the company, what’s to stop the staff at another from doing the same?