The National Labor Relations Board has cleared Oregon-based drinks distributor Bigfoot Beverages of several accusations that it violated labor law.
In September 2024, Bigfoot workers went on strike to keep their pension benefits. The next month, the business pulled recognition for their union.
Now, the NLRB has sided with Bigfoot, saying that move appears to be legally sound.
The company said it had received petitions from a majority of workers in the Roseburg and Eugene bargaining units, saying they didn’t want the Teamsters to represent them anymore.
But union representatives accused the company of influencing the petitions, and said there was no valid decertification vote.
Janet Little, NLRB’s Acting Regional Director for Seattle, found the petitions were sufficient. She said the signatures were verified, and there was no evidence that Bigfoot was involved in collecting them.
“An employer can withdraw recognition during an appropriate period ‘if the expression of employee desire to decertify represents ‘the free and uncoerced act of the employees concerned,’” wrote Little in a Jan. 8 dismissal letter.
The board also dismissed other complaints by the union that Bigfoot illegally threatened employees’ jobs and engaged in bad faith bargaining.
“The dispute over the nature of the pension benefit prevented reaching a full agreement,” wrote Little. “Absent other indicia, the unwillingness of the Employer to acquiesce on this issue is not indicative of overall bad faith.”
In total, Little dismissed seven of the complaints filed by the union’s representatives. Another eight complaints haven’t yet been ruled on.
The Co-Presidents of Bigfoot Beverages, Andy Moore and Eric Forrest, celebrated the development in a joint letter to business partners on Wednesday.
“We are pleased that the actions we took in the best interest of our team members have been verified as being legal and just,” they wrote.
The union could still appeal the decision. The Teamsters didn’t respond to KLCC’s request for comment.
On Thursday afternoon, there were still at least three union supporters outside the Bigfoot facility in Eugene, which has been the site of an ongoing picket line since the beginning of the strike.
