Grocery store union wins case for Black Lives Matter buttons

A union that represents more than 50,000 grocery store, retail, and other workers is celebrated a victory Friday, after a judge agreed with them and said they can wear their union-sponsored Black Lives Matter buttons at work.

UFCW 3000 says an administrative law judge from the National Labor Relations Board has ruled in favor of a group of Fred Meyer and QFC workers who were banned from wearing Black Lives Matter buttons, and other items like certain masks, to work.

“It feels good to win again!” said Sam Dancy, a front end Supervisor at the Westwood Village QFC in West Seattle. Dancy has worked for QFC for more than 30 years.

“When we as workers speak out through these buttons and collectively say Black Lives Matter and then QFC and Fred Meyer said to take the buttons off, that was insulting and a violation of the law," Dancy said. "We knew all along we had the right to call out social and racial injustice in the workplace and in our neighborhoods and this judge’s decision reiterates that right.”