Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2023 5:44:21 GMT -5
Workers Say GT’s Kombucha Is Made with 100% Pure Exploitation
A new court ruling finds intimidation, unpaid overtime, and other allegations of abuse at GT's kombucha factories
Flip over any jewel-toned bottle of GT’s Living Foods kombucha and you’ll notice it’s apparently made with more than just black tea and fresh pressed juices. A key ingredient, reads the label, is “100% pure love.” But according to a long-running lawsuit, the crunchy cult-favorite company treated workers terribly for years.
The supposedly homespun business was the first to commercialize the bubbly fermented tea in the US, when three-first-names founder George Thomas Dave began delivering bottles to Erewhon stores in Los Angeles himself nearly 30 years ago. GT’s remains the biggest player on the market today, with yearly sales exceeding $300 million as of October 2022. Dave, who grew up in a deeply spiritual and booch-evangelizing family, has long attributed his success to good vibes and a positive outlook. They’re qualities he’s said extend to his production facilities:“The environment we make kombucha in is peaceful, loving, quiet,” Dave told Inc. Magazine back in 2015.“Like a nursery.”
The vibes, in fact, were horrific, according to a new report fromthe Los Angeles Times. A ruling filed on July 27 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court found that GT’s Living Foods subjected employees working at its Vernon, California, factory between 2010 and 2014 to “deplorable and abusive and disturbing” conditions. Allegations against the company made by 11 former staff included unpaid overtime; workdays spanning 12 to 14 hours; little time to rest, eat meals, or use the bathroom; and intimidation. Judge William F. Highberger awarded more than $450,000 in restitution to the 11 plaintiffs.
www.bonappetit.com/story/gt-kombucha-worker-exploitation?source=Paid_Soc_FBIG_CM_0_DPA_GTM_0_BA_US_Prospecting_V2&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=Paid_Soc_FBIG_CM&utm_brand=ba&utm_campaign=paid-DPA_GTM&fbclid=IwAR28p_B8nccBtEYje1N7d5XJMfz3u3hULwSpreZd81tb1kr3N4uGHky-CJ4
A new court ruling finds intimidation, unpaid overtime, and other allegations of abuse at GT's kombucha factories
Flip over any jewel-toned bottle of GT’s Living Foods kombucha and you’ll notice it’s apparently made with more than just black tea and fresh pressed juices. A key ingredient, reads the label, is “100% pure love.” But according to a long-running lawsuit, the crunchy cult-favorite company treated workers terribly for years.
The supposedly homespun business was the first to commercialize the bubbly fermented tea in the US, when three-first-names founder George Thomas Dave began delivering bottles to Erewhon stores in Los Angeles himself nearly 30 years ago. GT’s remains the biggest player on the market today, with yearly sales exceeding $300 million as of October 2022. Dave, who grew up in a deeply spiritual and booch-evangelizing family, has long attributed his success to good vibes and a positive outlook. They’re qualities he’s said extend to his production facilities:“The environment we make kombucha in is peaceful, loving, quiet,” Dave told Inc. Magazine back in 2015.“Like a nursery.”
The vibes, in fact, were horrific, according to a new report fromthe Los Angeles Times. A ruling filed on July 27 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court found that GT’s Living Foods subjected employees working at its Vernon, California, factory between 2010 and 2014 to “deplorable and abusive and disturbing” conditions. Allegations against the company made by 11 former staff included unpaid overtime; workdays spanning 12 to 14 hours; little time to rest, eat meals, or use the bathroom; and intimidation. Judge William F. Highberger awarded more than $450,000 in restitution to the 11 plaintiffs.
www.bonappetit.com/story/gt-kombucha-worker-exploitation?source=Paid_Soc_FBIG_CM_0_DPA_GTM_0_BA_US_Prospecting_V2&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=Paid_Soc_FBIG_CM&utm_brand=ba&utm_campaign=paid-DPA_GTM&fbclid=IwAR28p_B8nccBtEYje1N7d5XJMfz3u3hULwSpreZd81tb1kr3N4uGHky-CJ4
