Western New Brunswick Chip Company Denied Union Busting Right

A New Brunswick judge has denied an application from Covered Bridge Potato Chips to dismantle the union. 

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Terrence Morrison this week rejected an application by the Wakefield, NB chip factory owners to overturn a ruling by the New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board and terminate the union.

Employees represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1288P, 32 of the 90 workers at the factory near Hartland, went on strike Jan. 5, seeking better wages and seniority rights.

Carl Flanagan, the national UFCW spokesman, said the employees hope the decision will bring their employer back to the bargaining table so a settlement can be reached.

The 32 members of the union have been in a legal strike position since June and some members walked off the job in January.

Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company, owned by Matthew and Ryan Albright, makes old-fashioned kettle-cooked Russet chips, and employs 90-95 people at its processing plant. It gets its name from Hartland’s most popular tourist attraction — the longest covered bridge in the world at 291 metres in length.

The company is an offshoot of  Albright Farms, a family-owned fourth generation company that started farming in the early 1920's.

The Albright brothers Albright formed the Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company in 2006. The first bag of Covered Bridge chips rolled off the line in January, 2009.