DoorDash fired an employee for trying to organize a union, NLRB alleges

Bloomberg reports a regional director for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint alleging that DoorDash illegally fired an office employee who tried to organize a union in Arizona. The complaint also says DoorDash threatened to reprimand workers who attempted to assemble and lied to them, saying it’s unlawful to discuss worker conditions on days off.

The NLRB specifically accuses DoorDash of violating employees’ federal rights by “interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees,” the May 30th filing reads. DoorDash denies making any attempts to block unionization efforts. “These allegations are part of a personally motivated attack and entirely without merit,” DoorDash representative Liz Jarvis-Shean wrote in a statement to Bloomberg.

The fired employee, who wasn’t a delivery driver, had reportedly started a group called “Service Desk Analysts” within the company, where people met to discuss working conditions. The majority of DoorDash’s workforce are independent contractors, or gig workers, and cannot, by law, unionize. However, the employees that make up the company’s salaried workforce are legally allowed to organize a union.

Major cities, including San Francisco, argued that the workers should be considered employees, and the company paid millions to settle. DoorDash says it was unaware of any unionization efforts being made but acknowledged that the person they fired is an employee and says it respects their legal rights. The employee was dismissed for repeated insubordination, according to the company.