Former NLRB Chairman on Augusta Chipotle employee blacklisting: “Devastating, diabolical, insidious”

AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) - The former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board is taking aim at the Augusta Chipotle restaurant accused of “union-busting.”

The restaurant closed in July hours before employees were to meet with the NLRB to unionize, and allegedly blacklisted those employees from working at its other stores.

Members of Congress discussed this issue at a House Labor Committee hearing today.

Former chairman Mark Pearce, who led the Board from 2011-2017, called the alleged blacklisting “insidious” and elaborated on why he thinks the situation merits a closer look.

”That kind of devastating, diabolical activity has to be looked at very carefully,” Pearce said. “The law talks about an employer has a right to shutter its business to stop a union from coming in, but if you have a corporate employer that has a cluster of businesses and is essentially playing whack-a-mole to drive out the union, I think the law looks a little bit differently at those kind of activities.”

The NLRB is investigating unfair labor practice charges.

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