Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Los Angeles' kombucha empire exploited workers for years
LA Times via SF Gate ^ | 8/2/2023 | By Sam Dean

Posted on 08/02/2023 7:45:34 AM PDT by NohSpinZone

Kombucha has treated George Thomas Dave well.

But Dave's kombucha factory treated workers terribly for years, according to a new ruling in a long-running lawsuit against his company, GT's Living Foods.

SNIP

As the owner of GT's — which sells about $275 million of the fermented tea drink and other beverages each year — Dave has become a billionaire, according to Forbes estimates. This year he bought a $14-million hilltop estate just a few streets away from the two-home compound he already owned in Beverly Hills.

All along, he's insisted that good vibes and a positive attitude have been the secret to his success.

"People's energy has an influence on the quality of the kombucha," Dave told The Times in 2008, along with an anecdote he's repeated multiple times in the 15 years since: He contended that the dark energy surrounding one early employee who was "suffering from depression" and then died of a heart attack caused the kombucha to go bad.

"As silly as it sounds, because of its living-life-force qualities, the kombucha is sensitive to the energy that surrounds it," Dave reiterated in 2015. Each bottle of his brew says right on the label: Made with "100% pure love!!!"

But according to a ruling filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Dave's kombucha company subjected a number of workers to "deplorable and abusive and disturbing working conditions" in one of its factories in Vernon, just south of downtown Los Angeles, between 2010 and 2014.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; US: California
KEYWORDS: belair; exploitation; kombucha; workers
Another one of those California new age, hippie dippy, peace-and-love slave labor types. You hate to see it.
1 posted on 08/02/2023 7:45:34 AM PDT by NohSpinZone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: NohSpinZone

I wonder.
I always wonder about stories like this, because of the propensity of the media and the State of California to punish any business that does well.


2 posted on 08/02/2023 8:01:22 AM PDT by Tupelo (A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: NohSpinZone

Give credit where it is due: one thing California does extremely well is freshly made granola. I suspect their kombucha is also top of the range.


3 posted on 08/02/2023 8:01:26 AM PDT by PUGACHEV
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: NohSpinZone

I remember when they were closed down for a year because Lindsay Lohan said kombucha tripped her alcohol detector.


4 posted on 08/02/2023 8:33:19 AM PDT by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: NohSpinZone
Tempest In A Tea Bottle: Billionaire GT Dave Brewed A Fortune (And Plenty  Of Bitterness) From Kombucha
George Thomas Dave

He looks like a crook.

5 posted on 08/02/2023 8:56:00 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Robert DeLong
Minimalist Beverly Hills Compound in Los Angeles by Otoniel Solis

His hilltop home.

6 posted on 08/02/2023 8:58:12 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Robert DeLong

what a creepy looking guy. Looks like he’s wearing a fake face.


7 posted on 08/02/2023 9:14:14 AM PDT by imabadboy99
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Robert DeLong

money cant buy fashion sense apparently either


8 posted on 08/02/2023 9:24:08 AM PDT by wafflehouse ("there was a third possibility that we hadn't even counted upon" -Alice's Restaurant Massacree)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: imabadboy99

That was my initial thought, that it was some kind of mask. 🤣


9 posted on 08/02/2023 9:39:17 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: wafflehouse

I like the touch of the loop holding his tie in place. 🤣


10 posted on 08/02/2023 9:40:10 AM PDT by Robert DeLong
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson