NORMAN, Okla. — Roughly two dozen demonstrators gathered outside Natural Grocers in Norman on Saturday afternoon to mark May Day with a labor picket, joining forces to support workers at the store and other local unionized workplaces.
Union members from Starbucks and the Workers Assembly of OU (WAOU), alongside other community supporters, participated in the rally. The event highlighted what organizers described as ongoing delays in contract negotiations and alleged union-busting by Natural Grocers and Starbucks corporate leadership.
“We are gathered here today for May Day, for International Workers’ Day, because Natural Grocers in Norman and workers at Starbucks in Norman are working in a negotiating contract with their respective corporations,” said Bridget Burns, a former Natural Grocers employee and current labor organizer.
Union busting
Burns alleged the companies have engaged in tactics aimed at undermining union efforts. “They recently brought an HR rep into the Norman store to write people up for every little thing, basically. We had another pro-union worker fired a couple of days ago for being five minutes late,” she said.
Of the 11 workers who voted to unionize at Natural Grocers last year, only two remain employed at the store, according to Burns. She said she believes the company has systematically targeted pro-union employees, which could lead to efforts to decertify the union.
Decertification has been a tactic Starbucks has tried in the OKC metro without success so far.
Burns has filed an affidavit with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which she said was accepted, alleging she was fired in retaliation for union organizing.
“I was suspended on December 20, banned from the store, and then fired on January 13,” she said. “There is a pretty good case that I was targeted for my union organizing efforts.”
Burns called for accountability, accusing the company of violating labor laws. “Unfortunately, like a lot of corporations, they’ve been acting illegally, violating labor law, and just taking the legal fees later,” she said.
Aedan Elizondo, a shift supervisor and union delegate at the unionized Starbucks in Norman, also spoke at the rally. They emphasized solidarity between workers across companies.
“We know they’re also fighting for a contract very similar to how we are fighting for a contract at our union, and showing solidarity, trying to get everyone to come together as a community and get everyone some equal pay and fair treatment,” Elizondo said.
Elizondo reported that union-busting tactics at their store had been mostly limited to anti-union signage and literature prior to formal unionization. “Now that we are officially a union, it’s kind of slowed down,” they said.
No firings or retaliatory actions have occurred at the Norman Starbucks location, according to Elizondo.
Natural Grocers responds
In response to the allegations, Natural Grocers provided a written statement to Free Press denying any wrongdoing.
“The suggestion that Natural Grocers engages in retaliation or anti-union bias couldn’t be further from the truth and we unequivocally deny these allegations,” the statement read. “Natural Grocers has always taken its obligations under the law seriously, does not retaliate against crew members who support or engage in protected activity, and supports employees’ legal rights to engage in concerted activity.”
The company also declined to address individual disciplinary actions, citing employee privacy, but said it is bargaining in good faith with the United Food and Commercial Workers union on behalf of Norman employees.
Alex Gatley covers labor activities in the state of Oklahoma.
