Judge orders company to stop threatening unionizing workers at N.J. warehouse

A U.S. District Court judge in New Jersey has ordered Lifetime Brands, the company behind such names as KitchenAid and Mikasa, to reinstate two employees it is alleged to have fired for attempting to unionize.

Judge Brian Martinotti on Tuesday ordered a temporary injunction against Lifetime Brands, Inc., saying he found reasonable cause to believe the company committed unfair labor practices at its Robbinsville warehouse when it terminated employees engaged in this protected union activity.

As part of the temporary order, Lifetime Brands was ordered to stop discharging or discriminating against employees who support unionization, to stop interrogating employees over their union support, to refrain from offering employees promotions to "induce" employees to withdraw their support for unionization, and to no longer threaten to close the warehouse or fire employees if they choose representation.

The case is scheduled before a NLRB administrative law judge July 31.

Read more: https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/07/company_ordered_to_rehire_stop_threatening_unioniz.html