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A group calling itself the New Seasons’ Market Workers’ Voice is planning to protest the SE Division Seven Corners New Seasons today during rush hour.

Criminal.
  • Criminal.

The workers are upset over the firing of Seven Corners employee Ryan Gaughan. After working for New Seasons since 2002, Gaughan was allegedly fired for rice and tofu theft (because, of course, it’s New Seasons). The report of his alleged crime follows:

Management claims that Ryan was not paying for scoops of brown rice from the deli. Ryan denies this accusation out right. Deli staff use a variety of methods to charge people for rice; printing out a sticker, adding the cost to another deli item, or charging for rice at the register when people bring up their plate. On all occasions, Ryan has paid for rice at the register when purchasing his lunch, when prompted to do so by the cashier.

Management claims that Ryan has been witnessed “by a staff member” taking “two scoops” of tofu from the deli wok bar, adding the product to his lunch plate, and not paying for the product at the register. On two occasions, Ryan pointed out the tofu on his plate to the deli cashier, and was told, “That’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Ryan has paid for all items on his lunch plate when prompted to do so by the cashier.

Gaughan’s supporters say he was targeted by New Seasons because he has been persistent in advocating for better worker conditions, like pushing New Seasons to expand its healthcare to fully cover transgender employees. Immediately after his firing last week, Gaughan filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. There’s also an online petition demanding his job back.

In addition to reinstating Gaughan, the New Seasons workers group is also demanding the grocer establish a peer-review system regarding disciplinary actions and terminations. The protest is scheduled for 5pm today at SE 20th and Division.

UPDATE: New Seasons marketing director Amy Brown says the company cannot comment on personnel decisions, but, “We can say the process was fair, and the decision was appropriate and consistent with our longstanding employee policies.” She adds that the company supports its employees’ right to protest.

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

25 replies on “Disgruntled New Seasons Employees Protest Firing of Worker over Alleged “Rice and Tofu Theft””

  1. “Ryan has paid for rice […] when prompted to do so by the cashier.”

    “Ryan has paid for all items […] when prompted to do so by the cashier.”

    I see what you did there.

  2. Ryan’s a terrific person and a serious worker. He’s also a union organizer, and it’s clearly organizing he was fired for. Go to the demonstration! Or call New Seasons and tell them to treat their workers fairly. What kind of people shop at New Seasons and eat brown rice and tofu and don’t care how the workers are treated?

  10. Wouldn’t EVERY shoplifter say that they were totally going to pay for that item, just as soon as someone noticed they were heading out the door with it? You don’t wait for a personalized invitation to pay for your shit…

  11. @ Karen, you ask?

    “What kind of people shop at New Seasons and eat brown rice and tofu and don’t care how the workers are treated?”

    We call them “liberals.”

  12. @REYMONT: BUT THIS GUY’S STORY IS THAT HE PAID WHAT WAS ASKED OF HIM. HE PUT IT ON THE CONVEYOR BELT AND THE CASHIER RUNG HIM UP. HE PRACTICED GOOD FAITH, AND THE CASHIER DID NOT CHARGE HIM THE CORRECT AMOUNT AND THEN GAUGHAN GOT FIRED FOR IT.

  13. “New Seasons workers group is also demanding the grocer establish a peer-review system regarding disciplinary actions and terminations.”

    You people are fucking hilarious.

  14. One of my friends got fired from that store for taking too long of a bathroom break. when people started saying that was unfair, they became targets. This most recent person to get fired was one of those targets.

    Is it hilarious that my friend got fired for taking a giant dump? of course! is it funny that a new seasons employee got fired over brown rice and tofu? also yes.

    but these are real people losing their income over b.s. if new seasons wants to have an image of being good to their employees, than they have to walk the walk or deal with the blowback

    http://newseasonsmarketworkersvoice.org/

  17. The next time I go to New Seasons and DON’T see two employees playing grab ass while customers stand around waiting for service will be the first.

    At a certain point you start to wonder why any company would do anything but treat their employees like shit. Hell, even people who have it good are eventually going to want to unionize for reasons like “establishing a peer-review system” for discipline (that’s already being written into a Portlandia sketch, btw) so why bother trying to treat your people right? Just ride their asses until the eventual unionizing effort.

  18. What’s really disturbing about New Seasons is the way that they portray themselves as a community-oriented, worker-friendly store. They are neither. Last year, thousands of people urged them to pull Israeli products from the shelves as part of an international campaign against apartheid in Israel and the Occupied Territories; they refused to do so.

    Now, they are showing that they are vehemently anti-worker as well. I hope that all Portlanders who support workers’ rights will support this campaign, and realize that shopping at New Seasons does nothing more to support progressive causes than shopping at any other store would. As an alternative, there are both multiple co-ops (Food Front, People’s), in Portland, as well as unionized grocery stores with UFCW (Fred Meyer, Safeway).

  20. How does not pulling Israeli items from the shelf make them anti-community? That just makes them anti-political.

    I don’t know if they are “anti worker” either. This guy did say that he didn’t pay for things that he took. Saying that someone else told you that it was OK to steal ( the cashier ) does not actually make it OK. I’m fine with it if New Seasons just turns out to be anti bad-worker.

  21. SMirk: Copying a portion of the website and posting it here as “the report” is a little sloppy. It’s the fired dude’s opinion of what happened. “Oh, it was just a little brown rice and tofu and the cashier was ok with it, you know, whatever, no big, and you know it was only the one time and everyone else was doing it and justification justification justification.” I’m sure there’s another side to this you and I will never know. At least present this as “fired dude’s version of events.”

  22. Hey Kollantai, if you want the products of a country with a militaristic, aggressive occupying force out of a grocery store, how about asking them to pull out products from America? China might also be a worthy target. Your wordly concern for the Palestinians is itself a form of cultural imperialism. New Seasons was right to ignore you.

  23. I’d like to second pdxMB- this is a pretty one-sided article. As the update from New Seasons notes, they cannot disclose any specific details about personnel decisions (pretty standard HR policy), which means that Gaughan is free to spin his side of the story to his heart’s content. For those of you calling New Seasons “anti-worker” that’s absurd, and you clearly don’t know anything about their benefits. I am not an employee, but have known employees working at multiple stores, and based on those sources, one has to try pretty hard to get fired from NS. Ebaq, nobody would get fired for taking one bathroom break that was too long. I suspect your friend is either lying, or you are.

  24. You hipsters are giving tofu a bad name!

    Please understand, in the real world if you choose to steal, your employer may choose to fire you… that is all.

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