Voodoo Doughnut fires workers who walked out during Oregon heat wave, employees say

Update: Voodoo Doughnuts has been ordered to rehire workers who were fired after walking out during a record heat wave in Oregon, KATU reported. The National Labor Relations Board ruled they were wrongly terminated.

Original story:



Three Voodoo Doughnut workers who went on strike, saying their Oregon shop had become too hot during a record heat wave, now say they’ve been fired for skipping work.

“It was unsafe in the store,” fired employee Max Fleisher told KOIN. “People were getting hives, people were getting nose bleeds, we were very concerned about the heat.”

Voodoo Doughnut declined to comment on whether the workers had been fired, citing employee confidentiality, but denied conditions in the Portland store were unsafe.

“The store is air conditioned and we took measures to address warmer than normal conditions, including providing employees extended or additional breaks, and shifting production to early morning and late evening hours,” spokesperson Audrey Lincoff told The Oregonian.

Portland reached record temperatures of 116 degrees Fahrenheit last week in a heat wave blamed for hundreds of deaths in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, Oregon Pubic Broadcasting reported.

At least 95 people have died in Oregon, with 64 of those deaths coming in Multnomah County, home to Portland, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Sunday on “Face the Nation.”

Eleven workers at the Voodoo Doughnut shop in Portland walked out June 27, saying the chain had not done enough to keep employees cool in the heat wave, KOIN reported.

“It’s not a mom-and-pop shop anymore,” former worker Skyler Irvine told The Oregonian. “It’s a large chain across the country.”

Workers stayed out on strike through Monday, but when three returned Tuesday, they were told they had been fired.

“They’re stating the official reason was job abandonment,” former employee Jose Luis told Willamette Week.

The dispute also involves Doughnut Workers United, a union that says it represents workers at the store but which Voodoo Doughnut refuses to recognize, saying workers voted not to form a union in a National Labor Relations Board election, according to The Oregonian.

Fleisher and other fired workers say they have filed complaints with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, KOIN reported.

This story was originally published July 4, 2021 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Voodoo Doughnut fires workers who walked out during Oregon heat wave, employees say."