March 30--McDonald's, facing accusations of various labor law violations, on Monday requested the names of current and former employees who spoke with the Service Employees International Union or its allies as well as the content of those conversations.
The union asked that the request be denied; SEIU and its allies said the information sought by McDonald's is privileged and, in some instances, not relevant. A ruling in the case isn't expected for several weeks.
McDonald's request was made Monday on the first day of hearings held at the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board.
Willis Goldsmith, an attorney representing McDonald's, said the information sought by the Oak Brook-based hamburger chain is important to putting into context how a three-year, $18 million attack on the McDonald's brand was structured.
Goldsmith acknowledged that McDonald's and its franchisees coordinated a response to demonstrations by workers around the country calling for higher minimum wages. He said the company has the right to defend its brand from "relentless attacks."
"They attack us, we can speak," he said.
Goldsmith said the purpose of the response was to protect McDonald's brand, not because it is a joint employer with its franchisees.
Before the allegations of labor law violations by McDonald's are addressed, NLRB administrative law judge Lauren Esposito is expected to hear evidence on whether McDonald's is a joint employer. The joint-employer designation is at the heart of a union-backed campaign to bring McDonald's to the negotiating table over wages, benefits and working conditions.
Attorneys representing the workers have maintained that McDonald's monitors and decides the minute-to-minute working conditions of employees at all stores, thus making it a joint employer. Further proof of that designation, they say, is that McDonald's coordinated response to labor protests resulted in threats, intimidation, scheduled cutbacks and firings.
The worker protests, which started in 2012, have been mostly funded by the SEIU. The Fight for $15 campaign also is pushing the joint-employer designation in suits filed in federal and state courts. Fight for $15 this month announced it had also filed complaints against McDonald's with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration alleging workers have been injured because of a lack of training and protective equipment.
Last year, Richard Griffin, the general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board, agreed with that argument when he determined that McDonald's could be charged as a joint employer. He's expected to present evidence showing how McDonald's directed or helped direct its franchisees to deal with employees who were engaging in activities protected under labor law. He's also expected to show evidence of how McDonald's imposes identical requirements and means of control across all of its franchisees.
The Fight for $15 campaign began with protests against the fast-food industry in New York. The campaign spread to cities across the United States and expanded to include other low-wage workers such as child care workers, adjunct professors and janitors.
Acancino@tribpub.com
