From today’s Los Angeles Times:
When the LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr told its staff last year that the days of fully remote work were over, more than 80 employees — nearly half off the company — said they wouldn’t report to the company’s West Hollywood headquarters or other newly established offices around the country. As a result, they were let go.
Now, federal labor regulators say the company’s back-to-office order was an unlawful ploy to retaliate against the workers’ union organizing efforts.
In a recent complaint, the National Labor Relations Board’s regional office in Los Angeles accused Grindr of interfering with employees’ right to organize and refusing to recognize the union workers had elected to join, calling the company’s actions “serious and substantial unfair labor practice conduct.”
About the 120 of the company’s roughly 180 employees were poised to form a union bargaining unit represented by Communications Workers of America, according the complaint. All 80 of the terminated employees were part of that group.
The popular app, which uses a location-based model that allows users to browse potential dates in their area, has gone through several ownership changes in recent years, but has continued to post solid profits from a dedicated user base in the tens of millions.
“We hope this NLRB filing sends a clear message to Grindr that, with a union, we are committed to negotiating fair working conditions in good faith,” the union, Grindr United-CWA, said in a statement Monday.
Read the complete story here.