The companies that produced Christmas at the Madison and Love at the Pecan Farm were found guilty of violating the National Labor Relations Act when in 2021, they prevented their crew from unionizing, striking, or picketing by interrogating and threatening employees.
Joshua Staheli, vice president of Teamsters Local 399, said, “This is not the first time we have seen Hallmark movies portray romantic, fairytale-eques storylines, while behind the scenes, the crew plot line is based in horror. While the drivers were on strike, many of the crew came out and showed their support, hoping they might get health benefits out of David Wulf if the Teamsters got a contract. It takes a lot of guts for a worker to stand up and fight back for their legal rights in the workplace. I am proud of these drivers for giving Hallmark and David Wulf a better story.”
The judge ordered the companies to “cease and desist from interrogating employees about which employees supported the union; interrogating employees and creating an impression among its employees that their union activities were under surveillance; threatening employees that (Love at the Pecan Farm) will shut down and move its business to Canada or elsewhere if employees chose to be represented by the union or continued engaging in union activity.”
However, local 399’s Staheli said, “Unfortunately, the productions have both concluded. Though a victory for the legality of working people and the right to organize, justice may never be fully served in this case should the workers never be compensated for what is owed. I look at this win however more as a warning for bad employers that undermine the legal rights of workers seeking union representation. Wulf and all bad-actor employers should take note that the law is not on their side when it comes to intimidation and threats against organizing workers.”
– Excerpt from an article for Deadline by David Robb. Read the full article here.
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