Nearly 11 months after he was fired from his job as a front-of-house server at Fried Egg I’m in Love, union supporter Colin John is set to be reinstated. The return is part of an Aug. 12 legal settlement brokered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Fried Egg is a Portland-based breakfast sandwich chain with three locations. John, 26, joined the union bargaining team after he and coworkers voted 20-4 to join the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) on May 30, 2024. On Oct. 1, soon after the first bargaining session — and a week after he led a one-day walkout to protest treatment of a coworker — John was fired after three years of working at the company.
“I was seven minutes late to work because of a bus not being on time,” John told the Labor Press. “That’s never been an issue as long as you notify your manager, which I did.”
In the name of their union, workers filed charges with the NLRB saying John’s firing was illegal retaliation for his union activity. The agency found there was merit to that charge and negotiated a resolution: Fried Egg will reinstate John with back pay totaling $17,000 and post a pledge — via text message and notices in the workplace — that they would not discriminate against union supporters in the future. The company also settled five other charges, pledging not to surveil workers, not to change attendance policies without bargaining, and not to discriminate against union supporters in discipline.
After his firing, John was barred from the shop floor, but he continued to serve on the union bargaining team. That made for an awkward moment when he showed up to the second Zoom bargaining session, he later recalled.
“When I turned on my camera, they looked like they saw a ghost,” John said. “Someone [on management’s side] said, ‘I didn’t know you could be here.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m still a bargaining representative.’”
Bargaining continues, and John said he’s hopeful the two sides will reach agreement, despite turnover in company management. John says the union is there to stay, and its goal is to make a better workplace.
“I always liked this job,” John said. “It was never the work itself that was the issue. It’s always been about policies and how they’re being enforced unfairly,” John said. “All of us are really great friends outside of work, and the new hires all immediately see the benefit of our union.”
Fried Egg owner Jace Krause declined to be interviewed, but in an emailed statement he described bargaining as constructive and said the company is committed to building a productive and respectful workplace for everyone.
