Wisconsin Piggly Wigglys Pay $570,000 In Back Pay, Rehires Employees

Piggly Wiggly Midwest, a Wisconsin supermarket chain, couldn’t wiggle out of the consequences of its piggish behavior with some of its unionized employees.

Piggly Wiggly Midwest will pay more than $570,000 in back pay to 500 union employees at six Wisconsin stores as part of a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB).

The settlement included new contracts with the union representing Piggly Wiggly employees, reinstating fired workers and keeping open a Sheboygan store that was to close.

The settlement involves several NLRB labor dispute cases, some dating to 2009. The cases were in various stages of litigation, according to an NLRB news release.

Charges Filed Involve Six Wisconsin Stores

The United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1473 filed more than 120 unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB against Sheboygan-based Piggly Wiggly Midwest.

The fight with the union came to a head in Sheboygan in June 2012. Piggly Wiggly announced the closing a decade old company-owned 60,000-square foot store located near the company’s headquarters. The store’s 108 workers would be laid off, according to the Sheboygan Press.

Other charges against Piggly Wiggly included bad faith bargaining, unilateral changes to wages and working conditions, unlawful firings and an illegal attempt to promote a union de-certification petition.

The settlement was reached 31 August 2012. The formal agreement is pending NRLB approval.

The state of Wisconsin is currently at the center of an anti-union legal controversy that has politically polarized the population.

For more please see:
Judge Strikes Down Wisconsin Anti-Union Law As Unconstitutional