On Feb. 3, Earth Fare employees in Johnson City and across the country woke up to news that they would no longer be employed by the North Carolina-based grocery store chain. However, news of the company’s bankruptcy did not come to employees from their employer.
For Kelsi Cornett, front end manager of the supermarket chain’s West State of Franklin location, this news came in the form of a Facebook message from a friend.
“It was kind of embarrassing because we had no idea what was going on,” Cornett said.
On Feb. 5, Cornett filed a class action lawsuit against the grocery store chain, claiming the company violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act by failing to give workers a 60 day notice before closing its stores and laying off employees.
“The company needs to know what they did to us was wrong,” Cornett said. “That’s not how professionals should handle themselves.”
Workers are still unsure if they will be paid by the company for their labor between now and the store’s close, likely at the end of the month.
Employees with health insurance through the company will be thrown off their plans in the coming days as well. With no notice, workers have had their sense of security taken away. They will now have to scramble to find employment, all the while struggling to pay bills, pass their classes and feed their families.
For workers like Cornett, who has been an employee for the company since 2011, finding a job that provides comparable wages and benefits will be very difficult. Lower paid employees without the same managerial credentials will struggle to find employment within such short notice as well.
Though local companies and businesses have set up small job fairs for the now-former Earth Fare employees, workers are not guaranteed positions elsewhere in order to make ends meet. They will never receive a sense of closure from the company they have given their lives and labor to.
Though the future looks uncertain for Earth Fare employees, Cornett is prepared for the legal battle ahead.
“I am proud to represent my coworkers,” she said. “They’ve been such a great team and a family for me. I am proud to do as much as I can to get what they deserve.”
No matter the outcome of the case, the bonds of solidarity will prove a powerful force to take on upcoming challenges.
As a community, it is unconscionable to allow our people to suffer at the hands of uncaring agents of corporate greed. No worker should have their employment or healthcare terminated because of a business’s mishandling. No worker should have their dignity stolen to protect a company’s executives. No worker should have their labor exploited. It is our duty to ensure these truths and protect our community.
