Grocery union files complaint against Smith's for unpaid back pay

Apr. 21—The union representing grocery workers in New Mexico is seeking a court order to require Smith's Food and Drug to pay various agreed-to sums for unpaid hours to workers, including some in Santa Fe.

United Food Workers & Commercial Workers Local 1564 filed a complaint against Smith's in United States District Court in New Mexico on Wednesday.

"We reached agreements with Smith's," Local 1564 President Greg Frazier said in an interview. "They keep saying they are going to pay, they are going to pay, and they have not paid."

The union seeks payment to employees on several grievances and payment of attorney fees.

"Smith's doesn't comment on pending litigation," Smith's spokeswoman Tina Murray said in an email.

The union and Smith's agreed Dec. 2, 2021, for Smith's to pay employees who came in for COVID tests on their day off three additional hours on top of the one hour Smith's did pay them. The complaint says these payments were supposed to be made by Aug. 19, 2022, but have not been made.

"Four hours is a minimum work day," Frazier said. "This is for people they made to come in to work to get tested."

Frazier believes this affects about 100 to 200 Smith's employees statewide, including some in Santa Fe.

A second grievance involves fewer than 100 employees statewide and fewer than 20 in Santa Fe who did not get holiday pay for working on the Fourth of July in 2021.

Another grievance addresses employees who didn't get adequate breaks during work days. The union and Smith's reached an agreement Dec. 19, 2022, to pay those employees for 40 hours for missed work breaks, but the union alleges Smith has not honored the agreement.

"When you agree to something, you should pay," Frazier said. "We are hoping they assign the case in the next two months."