Former Ozzie’s Barista Settles for $15,500

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.iww.org/en/content/former-ozzie%E2%80%99s-barista-settles-15500

Posted Thu, 04/07/2011 - 3:20pm by intexile

By Kristin V Brown - Park Slope Patch, April 3, 2011 - Reposted in accordance with Fair Use Guidelines.

Last month a former Ozzie's employee settled a suit alleging that the local shop discriminated against his union involvement.

A former Ozzie’s barista settled for $15,500 last month after the National Labor Relations Board filed suit against the local java joint, claiming it discriminated against the barista for his union affiliations.

Jeff Baurer, 41, claimed that the coffee shop unfairly terminated him for his affiliation with Industrial Workers of the World (also known as the Wobblies), an international union that believes all workers should be united and the wage system must be abolished.

“I can move on with my life knowing that at least one boss will think twice before interfering with a worker's right to organize for dignity and respect in the workplace,” said Bauer.

Bauer claimed that before his termination last June from the Seventh Avenue and Lincoln Place shop, he was constantly praised by management as a model employee and even offered the manager position. Then his employers’ sentiments quickly changed.

“Ozzie's violated my legally protected right to join and/or form a union in the workplace,” said Bauer, who worked at the spot for nearly a year. “They harassed me, retaliated against me, reduced my hours, demoted me and terminated me for engaging in protected concerted activity.”

The former barista believes that someone leaked his affiliation to management when he was organizing a May Day benefit for the IWW.

FULL story at link.