A California member of Congress has written to top Biden administration officials to express concern about Smart & Final’s labor practices amid the West Coast grocery chain’s ongoing dispute with hundreds of warehouse workers.
In a Monday letter to the heads of the departments of Transportation and Labor as well as the U.S. Trade Representative, Rep. Jimmy Gomez said he had received complaints about Smart & Final’s operations, including allegations that the Mexican-owned company violated federal safety regulations and labor laws and took improper action against workers who elected to unionize.
“I write to convey their concerns and allegations to your respective agencies, and to better understand whether your departments believe enforcement actions or legislative oversight or reform may be necessary,” Gomez said.
Gomez, a Democrat who represents a Los Angeles-area district, linked Smart & Final’s practices to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a framework among the countries that governs their trade relationships. While the agreement is designed to ensure fair conditions for U.S. workers in the context of trade between the nations, “more work is required to protect the fundamental rights of workers on either side of the border to organize and collectively bargain for improvements in their wages and working conditions,” Gomez wrote.
Gomez added in the letter that he was particularly concerned about potentially “unfair practices” by companies that might contravene labor and cross-border provisions of the trade deal, which went into effect in July 2020 and is due for a review about whether it will be renewed in 2026. He called Smart & Final’s relationship with its employees a “case study” that could help lawmakers develop ways to better protect workers.
“I have long been concerned that regulatory and legal gaps in our existing trade framework could be exploited by powerful firms, resulting in downward pressure on wages and working conditions in our communities, and the subversion of our laws,” Gomez wrote.
Smart & Final is locked in a battle with the Teamsters union, which represents hundreds of workers at warehouses the company operates. The workers went on strike in June over what they said are plans by Smart & Final parent company Chedraui USA to close two warehouses and force the workers to reapply for jobs at another facility that the union described as paying $10 to $12 less per hour. The strike is continuing, according to the union.
The union is also pursuing unfair labor practice charges against Chedraui USA and Smart & Final with the National Labor Relations Board.
In a July 1 statement, Teamsters Local 630 praised Gomez’s letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
“The Teamsters will keep up the pressure in the streets and in the halls of government to hold this company accountable," Lou Villalvazo, secretary-treasurer of Local 630, said in the statement.
Smart & Final did not respond to a request for comment about Gomez’s letter by press time. In a statement in June, the company took issue with the Teamsters’ claims that it is mistreating workers and said the union had overstated the number of striking workers.
