Subway workers in New Jersey get organized

Subway may claim to be the “leader in fast, healthy food,” but that alleged commitment to wellness often doesn’t extend to its employees. In the last decade, the company has been found guilty of about 17,000 labor violations. Now, at least one group of workers is fighting back. On July 18, after a three-month campaign, employees of a Subway franchise in Bloomsbury, N.J. voted 8-5 to join the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) Local 108. The Bloomsbury workers are in a unique position: Rather than staffing a standalone Subway, they’re employed at a franchise tucked into a Pilot Flying J travel center, where gas attendants, cashiers, and maintenance workers voted in February to join Local 108, too. This initiative, says Local 108 President Charles Hall, helped drive the Subway workers to organize in turn. Hall says that workers in both areas of the center share similar concerns, including “Low wages across the board for all workers and sporadic scheduling,” as well as a lack of opportunities for advancement or raises.

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