A friend of mine recently recruited me to join a Facebook group called “Support Workers in Newburgh Fired for Organizing!” Naturally this made me curious to find out why this happened and so I went to the Times-Herald Record’s account to learn more.

Teamsters Local 445 says it will ask a federal court to force Concept Packaging owner Jeffrey Fanning to give back pay to workers he allegedly fired for supporting the union and to post conspicuous notices of the workers’ rights to unionize.

The factory, which employs 62, most of whom are Latino women, is the country’s second-largest bottler of nail polish.

Local 445 filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board on Oct. 8, claiming Fanning harassed, threatened and ultimately fired at least 10 workers for signing a petition to join the Teamsters.

Ah, so there you have it this is a case of your typical nasty boss worker harassment. The owner claims he laid people off because of lack of work and seniority which are proven false in the article.

But, “I know for a fact he did not lay off in order of seniority,” said Local 445 officer Adrian Huff. “There were workers who were there four years who were fired, and others with less than six months who remained at work.”

Of course the owner’s attorney failed to give a comment to the Times-Herald Record. There also appears to be two OSHA inspections ongoing at this factory.

In a separate action, the Workers Rights Law Center recently filed complaints with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration citing unsafe conditions at Concept Packaging, where employees describe poor ventilation, noxious fumes, broken toilets and dead rodents.

In August, one worker collapsed, suffering respiratory arrest and partial paralysis of his arm and face, according to Phoebe Schell of the WRLC. She said when the employee tried to return to work, he was fired.