Ford worker fired for allegedly stealing snacks – Business News
A Ford meeting worker who says he was fired after being wrongfully accused of stealing much less than $8 value of Doritos and Ritz crackers is looking on his former employer to “do what’s right” and rent him back.
Nick Nabozny — one of the most recent employees to say Ford and its food-services vendor Aramark wrongly branded him a snack thief — instructed The Post his firing has drained his financial savings, however he’s keen to let bygones be bygones.
“I have no hatred towards Ford Motor Company or the [United Auto Workers],” he stated Wednesday. “I just want them to do what’s right.”
Ford worker Nick Nabozny says he was fired after an Aramark self-checkout kiosk allegedly didn’t course of cost for much less than $8 value of Doritos and Ritz crackers. Courtesy Nick Nabozny
Nabozny, 38, stays unemployed almost months after his firing and stated he cashed out his 401(ok), receiving about $78,000 after taxes and penalties, to assist his spouse and two younger sons whereas he waits for Ford and the UAW to behave.
After placing in almost 9 years with a spotless attendance report, he needs his union bargaining consultant had prevented the firing within the first place, Nabozny stated.
“My union rep should have stood up and did their job,” he stated. “They should have never let me go.”
Nabozny, who counted at the least 4 others from his division who’ve been fired over alleged theft of snacks, stated the firing got here in April, after he stopped on the self-service market following an additional time shift.
“[Surveillance footage] showed me talking to someone and then when I was done speaking, it shows me grabbing a Milky Way off the shelf, looking at the ingredients, and putting it back,” he instructed The Post.
“I grabbed two different snacks, Doritos and Ritz Crackers with cheese. Then it shows me going to the kiosk and scanning those two items. It shows me pulling my debit card out of my pocket, tapping it and waiting for it to register.”
Nabozny (pictured together with his spouse and their two younger boys) says he believed he had paid for a bag of Doritos and Ritz crackers earlier than Ford accused him of theft and fired him. Courtesy Nick Nabozny
Nabozny, who says he had a excellent attendance report, hopes Ford will reinstate him. Courtesy Nick Nabozny
More than two weeks later, after coming back from a household journey to Honduras, Nabozny stated he was ordered to report to Ford’s labor workplace.
His union rep delivered the information.
“He said, ‘This is not good. The company wants to terminate you,’” Nabozny recalled.
“I said, ‘For what?’ He said, ‘For theft.’”
After reviewing the surveillance video, Nabozny stated a company consultant acknowledged it appeared he had tried to pay however instructed him the transaction timed out after he walked away from the kiosk.
Nabozny offered information of earlier purchases he produced from the Aramark-run mini-mart. Courtesy Nick Nabozny
“Even though it looks like you purchased it after you left, the process timed out, so it’s considered theft,” Nabozny stated he was instructed.
Unlike one other Ford worker whose case drew national consideration, Nabozny stated his bank information didn’t show the acquisition as a result of the transaction was by no means accomplished. He maintains he had no purpose to consider something had gone mistaken.
“I was not aware that the transaction did not go through until the 27th [of April],” he stated.
Such a petty theft wouldn’t make sense, Nabozny added.
Last yr, Nabozny obtained a $100 present card from Ford as a reward for excellent attendance. Courtesy Nick Nabozny
“I’ve spent thousands of dollars in this store. I have two little kids. I’m married. I’ve worked there for nine years,” he stated. “I’m not going to jeopardize my livelihood and my ability to take care of my family over two bags of chips.”
The Nabozny firing was first reported by journalist Phoebe Wall Howard in her Substack e-newsletter Shifting Gears.
The Detroit Free Press just lately reported that at the least three Michigan Assembly employees who have been fired over alleged snack thefts been reinstated since investigations cleared them.
Neither Ford nor Aramark has commented on the particular circumstances.
Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., the place a number of employees have been fired over alleged snack thefts involving Aramark self-checkout kiosks. Bloomberg by way of Getty Images
Ford instructed the Post it has invested in upgrading self-serve kiosks operated by Aramark.
“We are aware there have been some issues raised regarding the kiosk functionality in some limited cases, and we are working with Aramark to review these situations,” a spokesperson stated.
Aramark beforehand stated the company is “reviewing the instances in question” and stays centered on working “with integrity and accountability.”
Former Ford electrician Kurt Kromm is taking a completely different tack from the employees who’ve come back.
Former Ford electrician Kurt Kromm says he was fired over a $1.95 bundle of cookies earlier than proving he had paid and turning down the company’s offer to return.
He stated he was fired after a kiosk appeared to show he didn’t pay for a $1.95 bundle of Grandma’s Chocolate Chip Cookies that he purchased during an in a single day shift whereas treating low blood sugar attributable to diabetes.
Kromm later discovered the $1.95 charge on his bank assertion, satisfied Ford he had paid and was reinstated with roughly $33,000 in back wages. He declined to return to the company.
Kromm just lately lawyered up, as an alternative.
