Government Reports Reveal Jimmy John's Lied about Pattern of Food-borne Illness Outbreaks

[Starry Messenger]

Due To Sick Workers

http://www.iww.org/en/content/government-reports-reveal-jimmy-johns-lied-about-pattern-food-borne-illness-outbreaks-due-si

Company Credibility Erodes as NLRB Investigation over Firing of Six Whistleblowers Continues:

MINNEAPOLIS- Two months after Jimmy John's fired six workers for blowing the whistle on a company practice of forcing sandwich-makers to work while sick, the IWW Jimmy John's Workers Union has released Minnesota Department of Health documents today revealing eight outbreaks of foodborne illness at franchises across the Twin Cities area in the past five years, seven of which were due to employees working while sick at the chain. The release of the documents seriously erodes the credibility of Minneapolis franchise owner Mike Mulligan who had previously claimed to reporters and employees that, "the company has made more than 6 million sandwiches during its nearly 10 years in business—and no one’s ever gotten sick from eating one." Two of the outbreaks, both caused by sick employees, were at the Mulligans' stores.

"This is smoking gun evidence not only of the seriousness of the public health risk caused by workers being forced to work while sick at Jimmy John's, it also proves that Jimmy John's franchise owner Mike Mulligan willfully lied to the media, the public, and his employees about his food safety track record. We will continue our fight for paid sick days for restaurant workers until Jimmy John's changes their policy to protect workers and the public," said Max Specktor, one of the fired whistleblowers.

Although franchise owner Mike Mulligan has also publicly denied disciplining workers for calling in sick, the company's own written policy mandates one to two disciplinary 'points' for workers who call in without finding a replacement, even if they have a doctor's note. Workers are fired after accumulating six points. In addition to the threat of discipline for calling in sick, workers are often unable to afford to take a day off if they fall ill because wages at the sandwich chain hover around the federal minimum of $7.25 and the company offers no benefits.

According to results of a survey of 40 sandwich workers conducted by the IWW Jimmy John's Workers Union, the threat of discipline and poverty wages result in an average of at least two workers working while sick at Jimmy John's in Minneapolis every single day. The union plans to release a report highlighting these findings next week.

Nice to see some vindication of the workers, even if the news is pretty icky. Unions work to protect the public as well as workers.

[GreenEyedLefty]

1. That's disappointing because I love Jimmy John's sandwiches.

[Starry Messenger]

2. They do look yummy.

But I guess it's better to know than to not know?

[Scuba]

3. Jimmy John's lied? No, Mike Mulligan lied, and is hiding behind corporate personhood. n/t

[Starry Messenger]

4. Good point.

That was the headline at the link though.

[Scuba]

5. Yeah, I knew it wasn't yours. n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

6. yes he did lie...

but the corporate policy of 1 or 2 discipline points being assigned for calling in sick (firing after 6 points) is ludicrous. It is all part of the steady march back to the beginning of the 20th century.

[LooseWilly]

7. k&r