Office Depot Alleged to Have Discriminated Unlawfully Against Unions

June 13, 2000 by Beeson Tayer & Bodine

The California Labor Federation has filed a discrimination suit against Office Depot for its policy of not delivering products to Union offices. (Calif. Labor Federation v. Office Depot, Inc., Case #BC224917, Feb. 2000).

The suit arose after IBEW Local 47 of Los Angeles placed a large order for office furniture with Office Depot, which promises free next day delivery. When the delivery failed to arrive, the Local called the store supervisor who apologized – not because the delivery was late, but because they weren’t informed of their company policy. A company representative told the IBEW that the policy was in place because there had been occasions when people in Union offices spoke to Office Depot drivers about the benefits of unionization. In an e-mail to another Union, Office Depot Customer Service Assistant Debbie White wrote: “we choose to deliver to union offices only via third party carriers, such as UPS.”

Incidentally, IBEW Local 47 canceled its furniture order.

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