By now, many of you have heard about the unjust termination of UFCW Local 1473 member Gina Giacobassi from her job of 4 years at the Metro Market (Kroger) in Shorewood, WI. This petition is to raise awareness about the circumstances of Gina’s termination, and to call on Kroger to adopt policy changes and reinstate Gina. 

Gina, age 25, has developmental disabilities and has been a hardworking team member at Metro Market since 2016. If you have ever shopped at the Shorewood Metro Market on Oakland Avenue, chances are you’ve been helped by Gina at the registers, where she bagged groceries with skill and was beloved by her coworkers.

On April 23, 2020 Gina self-reported to one of her managers that she had been bullied into purchasing alcohol for 2 underage coworkers. Over the years at Metro Market Gina had been asked to buy things for these coworkers and others before, and this time she felt that what had happened wasn’t right. She knew she had been bullied. 

The manager to whom Gina reported this incident praised her for coming forward, but nonetheless had Gina write a statement (with the help of a coworker and without union representation) that was used by the company to begin an official investigation into the incident. Although the company had no knowledge of this incident prior to Gina coming forward, she was suspended and subsequently terminated for purchasing alcohol for minors. 

Gina’s union, UFCW Local 1473, was contacted by the Giacobassi family while she was on suspension and made aware of the circumstances of this incident. The union filed a grievance on her unjust suspension and subsequently filed a grievance on her unjust termination.

The union asked for reinstatement multiple times and was told repeatedly by Kroger that the company is not interested in returning Gina to work, under any circumstances. The company has discretion to consider the circumstances of an incident and determine the appropriate discipline.  Kroger has chosen instead to see this issue as black and white, and to ignore the mitigating facts and circumstances that led to Gina being terminated for an unfortunate event of workplace bullying. 

The Giacobassi family has consistently advocated that they do not want what happened to Gina to happen to another person with disabilities. To prevent bullying, harassment, and unjust discipline against employees with disabilities in the future, the Giacobassi’s offered to settle the grievance if the company would agree to: annual online harassment training (with scenarios to help employees identify bullying), requiring new store managers to meet with employees with disabilities and their guardians/work coaches to be educated on the employee’s needed accommodations and establish a relationship, and require that every 6 months management remind all employees of the Kroger Ethics Hotline, an anonymous hotline employees can use to report harassment or bullying when they are not comfortable going to management. 

UFCW Local 1473 presented these terms to the company, and Kroger unilaterally denied all of these terms and offered $3500, which would also come with a confidentiality clause preventing the Giacobassi’s from going public about the settlement. 

UFCW Local 1473 joins our community, the Giacobassi Family, and many others from around the country who have now heard of this event, calling on Kroger to adopt these policy changes and reinstate Gina Giacobassi to her position at the Shorewood Metro Market. 

Please join us- sign today and tell Kroger to do the right thing: adopt these policy changes today, and reinstate Gina Giacobassi!