Applegreen accused of lack of engagement with union in US pay dispute

A trade union representing forecourt workers in the US has accused Applegreen of a lack of engagement over its handling of allegations of underpayment of employees at a subsidiary company.

The Irish forecourt retailer, which was delisted from the stock market after being taken private in a deal led by private equity giant Blackstone last year, is now being sued by the state of Connecticut for more than $6 million (€5.6m) over claims that subcontracted fast-food chains operators at the subsidiary’s plazas were not paying workers the wages to which they were legally entitled.

In response to queries a spokesman for Applegreen said this week that the company does not comment on legal matters. The complaints also relate to a time before Applegreen acquired its 40 per cent stake in the US company Project Service in 2019.

However, speaking to The Irish Times this week, Rochelle Palache, head of the Connecticut Service Employees International Union and vice-president of the local branch 32BJ, said that the company’s practices have continued since Applegreen acquired its stake in Project Service.

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Following complaints to the US department of labour, an investigation uncovered evidence of unpaid wages totalling $2.7 million (€2.5m) on dates between August 2017 to September 20th, 2019. At a press conference last week announcing the lawsuit, Connecticut attorney general William Tong said: “These workers did their job, and they deserve to be paid their full compensation.

“Project Service was put on notice years ago that their subcontractors were underpaying workers in violation of state law. They have continuously refused to make their workers whole despite repeated warnings and demands. We are left with no choice but today’s legal action to compel Project Service to repay $2.7 million in unpaid back wages, as well as $2.7 million in additional penalties and damages to ensure this egregious wage theft never occurs again.”

Ms Palache said that Project Service, which holds the long-term contract with the state to operate at the service plazas, had “not necessarily been co-operating” with the union. She said the union also has a separate unfair labour practice claim pending against the company.

Ms Palache said the standard wage law requires workers to be paid $14 (€13.07) at a minimum, plus $4.21 if no benefits are provided by the employer.

“One of the workers who spoke powerfully last week, he was supposed to be making $18.21 (€17) if no benefits are provided. He’s making $16. What that extra $2.21 would mean is that he could actually pay rent. He could maybe upgrade his car. So it’s those basic needs that are not being met when workers are underpaid.”

In 2020, the state recovered $870,000 for workers in McDonald’s restaurants at three service plazas for similar violations. Ms Palache said that McDonald’s “has actually started to pay the correct way” after an investigation by the labour department on foot of union complaints.

“So we have McDonald’s doing the right thing because of charges we brought to them,” she said. “But then we have companies like Applegreen [ ...] not complying with the state law.”

Describing the lawsuit as a landmark action by the state, Ms Palache said local authorities felt that they had no choice but to intervene in this manner.