Chipotle has settled an NLRB complaint filed by Chipotle United members following the July closure of a unionizing restaurant in Augusta, Maine, Chipotle confirmed in an email Monday.
The settlement included pay allocated to workers employed at the Augusta unit when it closed last summer, reported Maximilian Alvarez, a labor journalist and editor-in-chief of The Real News. Chipotle United said the money amounted to about $240,000, in a video shared by the Maine AFL-CIO.
The restaurant agreed to the settlement, “because the time, energy and cost to litigate would have far outweighed the settlement agreement,” said Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer. This sentiment diverges from Starbucks’ strategy of fighting its union drive at every possible judicial step.
According to the settlement, the company would pay between $5,800 and $21,200 each to workers impacted by the closure of the Augusta store depending on their pay rate, hours and several other factors. The company will also offer preferential hiring to the workers, who it previously refused to rehire at other stores, according to NLRB records.
Chipotle denied any wrongdoing, but will post a statement outlining the settlement in about 40 of its Northern New England stores, according to the settlement. That statement informs workers in those stores of their rights under the National Labor Relations act, and explains that the company is paying backpay and forward pay to workers impacted by the closure of the Augusta store.
“This isn't just a victory for Chipotle United,” Brandi McNease, a former employee of the August Chipotle restaurant and organizer with Chipotle United, said in a statement on the Maine AFL-CIO’s Facebook page. “It's a win for food service workers across the country. It sends a message to corporations that shutting down a store and blackballing workers didn't work for Chipotle and it won't work for them either.”
By settling at an early stage, Chipotle can avoid the sort of protracted legal battle Starbucks faces. The coffee chain recently pledged to fight an NLRB administrative law judge’s decision in the court of appeals.
While Chipotle United did not experience the same explosive growth as Starbucks Workers United, the fast casual giant has still seen its share of labor challenges, despite its competitive benefits and internal promotion procedures. Chipotle workers at a Michigan store opted to unionize with the Teamsters last summer. Last September, the chain settled alleged child labor violations in New Jersey for $7.75 million. Also in 2022, Chipotle paid $20 million to settle New York City Fair Workweek claims.
