Everlane Customer Experience Workers Say They Were Illegally Laid Off
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for SoyCow8162:
Everlane customer experience workers say they were illegally laid off:
Last week, Everlane's consumer experience team was gutted by layoffs in the middle of its union drive, a huge blow to the nascent organizing effort. Now, the former employees are fighting back, accusing the CEO of retaliation and threatening a legal challenge if the employees aren't reinstated.
The team, which primarily operates remotely, announced plans to unionize in late December, as reported by Anna Merlan in Vice. They said the direct-to-consumer clothing company treated them as "disposable" and failed to adequately compensate them for the work they did.
The team spent months gathering the number of signatures needed to form a strong majority - a requirement for unionizing efforts. Finally, on March 23rd, they sent Everlane CEO Michael Preysman a letter announcing they had enough support and asking for voluntary recognition. Four days later, 42 team members - including all of the vocal union supports - were laid off.
Representatives from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) linked the terminations to the team's organizing efforts. "This was not only disappointing, but also unlawful," wrote CWA's San Francisco chapter president Orange Richardson IV in the letter to Preysman (read the full text of the letter here). "We know that Everlane has as its mission radical transparency and ethical treatment and so in light of this we are asking you to reconsider this action, re-hire the terminated remote CX workers, make them whole, and recognize their Union." The letter says the union stands "ready to take appropriate action to defend the rights of remote CX workers." Former employees confirmed to The Verge that this means possibly suing for wrongful termination.
In an Instagram post, Everlane said the decision to lay off the team members was not about union-busting. "The COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything we could have predicted, and it has left no person or business untouched," the company's CEO wrote. "Everlane is no exception." He added that "firing as a form of union busting is unethical and illegal" and said the company supports workers who wish to unionize.
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