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Posted on 07/19/2026 12:30:06 PM PDT by johniegrad
MINNEAPOLIS — Employees at Kings Road Merch say they never expected their jobs to disappear just hours before contract negotiations were set to begin.
"This is a place for weirdos and outsiders," said Cesar Esparza, who has worked at the Minneapolis-area merchandise warehouse for 14 years.
Kings Road Merch fulfills and ships merchandise for local and national bands. Esparza says the workplace culture changed after Sony acquired the company last July.
"Everything went downhill," Esparza said. "Pay. The ability to hire. And just the irresponsibility on Sony's management to even handle any of our discrepancies. They've been completely silent."
Inspired by anti-ICE general strike demonstrations in Minneapolis, Esparza said workers decided to organize a union.
But just hours before the group's first bargaining session, Teamstersrepresentatives received unexpected news.
"Our Teamsters representative called me two hours before our meeting and said, 'Sony just informed me that they're closing the warehouse,'" Esparza said.
The closure would eliminate the jobs of Esparza and 17 other employees.
Aaron Sojourner, a senior economist with the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, says the timing raises questions but does not, by itself, prove wrongdoing.
"The principle in the law is very clear that the employer is not allowed legally to retaliate against workers for unionizing or close a facility because the workers unionized," Sojourner said.
Despite the closure announcement, Esparza says workers plan to continue fighting.
"You demoralized us two weeks ago, but now we're more motivated than we ever have been before," he said.
In a statement sent late Friday, Sony said the decision to close the warehouse was made before employees voted to unionize. The company said the facility is expected to close in September and that affected employees will receive severance packages.
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“Look for the UNION label”.
Nutty employees who have grievances have started setting warehouses where they work on fire as a way of showing they are dissatisfied with things.
I am not saying this is the best way to handle it. But it is an understandable way.
They can always quit and find another job. Or start their own business.
Apparently, "weirdos and outsiders" don't pay as much as it used to.
Apparently, “weirdos and outsiders” don’t pay as much as it used to.
Unless you’re Elon Musk.
Weirdos and outsiders unite!
My point is that when you have a protected group that can, and does, engage with violence while the other side is left with the blame and the bill the side at the disadvantage is going to disengage as quickly as possible.
And that this action is really the only logical thing to do if you can.
Yes, the company should relocate to an at-will employment state, keep the good workers and fire the troublemakers.
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
“weirdos & outsiders”
JUST EXACTLY WHAT EVERY CUSTOMER WANTS TO DEAL WITH
I do not care what happens to them.
I was just stating what happens when you do things like make violence legal for one side only. We probably should stop doing that.
I used to work for an offshore ship supply company and when the union TOOK OVER a bunch of us were fired to pay the new union wages to less people that had to do more work ,LOL
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