Former Pratt truck drivers allege they were fired after the company learned… (DONNA FISHER, THE MORNING…)
Five months after it opened a new $35 million cardboard plant in Lower Macungie, Pratt Corrugated Logistics laid off most of its 18 truck drivers, telling them the company decided to contract with outside haulers instead.
But 13 drivers who lost their jobs in April allege in legal documents that their terminations came after the company found out they were talking about forming a union.
The drivers complained to the National Labor Relations Board that they were terminated due to union activities, in violation of federal laws that protect workers' rights to form collective bargaining units.
The Morning Call interviewed eight truck drivers who were terminated, and those interviewed maintain they have reason to be suspicious of the company's motives.
According to the Labor Relations Board complaints, two drivers were fired on April 20. That was three days before a scheduled meeting to discuss forming a union.
The following week, a mysterious consultant who identified himself only as "Jay" questioned the remaining drivers in small groups, asking how they felt about working conditions and what problems they thought should be addressed, drivers told The Morning Call.
When asked for his full name, the consultant refused to give it, saying he was concerned about identity theft, drivers told The Morning Call. He identified himself as a labor relations consultant there to solve problems, drivers said.
Days later, 11 more drivers were terminated, according to complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board.
Only after the drivers were terminated did they discover Jay's full identity. His name is Jason Greer, a consultant based in LakeSt. Louis, Mo., who describes himself on his website as someone who "wakes up every day with one goal in mind, and that's to keep unions from taking over and ruining businesses that my friends and my clients have worked their entire lives to build."
After they were terminated and discovered Greer's specialty, drivers said they began to suspect he was hired to help Pratt determine how many of its truck drivers were likely to vote for union representation. Greer never mentioned a union, but drivers suspect he was able to get a sense of union support among those interviewed based on their broader conversation about working conditions.
"Shame on them for being deceitful like that," one of the drivers said. "It's a tough job market, and I felt I had a future there."
What Pratt drivers allege ties into a national debate about what employers and their union avoidance consultants, or "persuaders," should have to disclose to federal regulators.
The U.S. Department of Labor is considering new rules that would potentially broaden disclosure requirements for companies and labor relations consultants regarding their activities during union campaigns. Union advocates support the proposed changes, saying existing rules have broad exemptions that allow companies to conceal the full extent of their anti-union efforts. Business groups counter that the proposed new rules are onerous and could dissuade companies from fighting union campaigns out of fear of violating the law.
Of the truck drivers interviewed, seven said they were questioned by Greer. One said he was terminated before the questioning was conducted. Seven drivers answered Morning Call questions on condition of anonymity since they are trying to get their jobs back and they fear retaliation from the company for speaking to the media.
Pratt officials and Greer did not respond to multiple interview requests made by phone, e-mail and certified mail over the past two weeks. While visiting the plant on May 3, Pratt chairman Anthony Pratt said he was unaware of the National Labor Relations Board complaints against the company. He deferred questions to vice president of sales and marketing David Dennis, who declined to comment that day. Asked if the company would comment in the future, Dennis said, "possibly." He has since not responded.
A growing company
Pratt Industries is one of the world's largest family-owned paper and packing products companies. It began in 1948 as a cardboard box manufacturer in Australia, where it operates as Visy Industries. Over the years and through generations of the Pratt family, the company diversified to make food and beverage containers and offer recycling services. Visy Industries employs more than 5,500 people at 120 locations in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, Singapore and China according to the company's website.
The company, with 4,000 employees in 60 U.S. locations, entered the American market two decades ago and is among the country's largest cardboard box manufacturers. It has built a reputation for manufacturing processes that conserve energy and divert waste from landfills. The new Lower Macungie plant, for instance, makes cardboard out of recycled materials.
Pratt's U.S. operations recycle 3,000 tons of paper daily, according to its website.