May 3, 2024, the on-site workers at Fungi Perfecti, mycologist Paul Stamets’ medicinal and gourmet mushroom brand, announced their desire to unionize with the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) Local 252. The workers are seeking increases in pay and consistent healthcare coverage, among other benefits. And if they unionize, it could set higher standards for working conditions in psychedelics-adjacent and wellness industries. But employees are facing what’s commonly referred to as a “union avoidance” campaign — a term coined by labor organizations in the ’50s and ’60s to describe strategies used to avoid unionization — by the American Labor Group (ALG), a consulting firm with a history of deterring workers from organizing.
LiUNA Local 252 confirms with DoubleBlind that they have filed complaints of Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs) to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Fungi Perfecti, asserting that additional complaints are in the works to protect employees from having to endure tactics designed for union interference.
“The workers at Fungi Perfecti are standing strong through these stalling tactics intended to delay the determination of the unit with the NLRB,” says Anthony Johnson, Organizing Director of LiUNA Local 252. “These workers are not discouraged, they are disciplined and prepared. They are fiercely determined to stand together and improve their workplace.”
Warehouse staff at Fungi Perfecti informed Stamets about their intent to unionize twice in the first three months of 2024, emphasizing that their efforts were not an affront to him or the business and asking for his collaboration in moving the process forward.
In early April, however, Fungi Perfecti, LLC hired ALG, a full-service human resource and labor and consulting firm that works with employers in several ways, including management training, union avoidance, helping employers navigate Unfair Labor Practice (ULPs) charges, “role-playing how to legally and effectively answer employee questions,” and collective bargaining negotiations. Workers say ALG has been holding “unrequired” meetings where attendance is “heavily encouraged” to discuss the “pitfalls” of unions.
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Paul Stamets’ Employees Push to Unionize Over Allegations of Low Pay and Insurance Disruptions
