For Jennifer Brackley, it was a 6 month ordeal, but thanks to her union, it was one with a happy ending. For 10 years Jennifer had worked in the meat department at Albertsons store #156 in Boise, Idaho. She was suddenly fired on October 4, 2018 for allegedly violating company policy, she was accused of marking down products for herself.
“I felt very upset and confused on how they could just accuse me without proof,” Jennifer said. “They (Loss Prevention) tried to get me to admit that I did something wrong, I’m a single parent why would I jeopardize my job?,”she said. “When they said they know it’s hard for a single parent to afford ground beef, that made me mad!.”
Jennifer stated her right to union representation and then stopped answering their questions until they ended the interview, she then contacted the union office for assistance. Local 368A immediately filed a grievance, charging wrongful termination. The process took several months, but Local 368A persisted and it paid off with the arbitrator ruling in Jennifer’s favor. Albertsons was required to give Jennifer back her job with seniority and to back pay her $10,000 in lost wages. She started work again on March 27, 2019.
“When Albertsons told me I was fired, I was in shock . I didn’t think they would do that without proof,” she said. “But when I was told that I was getting my job back it was awesome! I never expected my union to help me so well. I’m so very thankful.”
