BASF Busts Unions Unfairly, Says Complaint

BATON ROUGE (CN) - BASF Corp. fired its senior manager for corporate labor relations in North America because he truthfully told his bosses they were using illegal tactics to bust unions, says the manager in Federal Court.

He says BASF, an international chemical company, fired him illegally, in breach of contract, on July 25.

The senior manager was hired in 2003. "By 2005, Plaintiff had determined BASF had a corporate strategy of eliminating as many unions as possible either through strategies to reduce union membership in order to force decertification procedures against the unions and/or making decisions to close or relocate plants because a union contract was in place at the site and/or not spending capital to expand or improve sites where union contracts existed," according to the complaint by Jeff Stone.

"Mr. Stone "let it be known to BASF Management were against federal law and state law, including the prohibition of civil conspiracies as to unfair trade practices."

So it fired him, he says. His direct supervisor, he says, was Andre Becker, the senior vice president of human resources, who reports directly to Kurk Bock, the CEO for BASF's North American operations.

He says the BASF illegally tried to bust the union at its Hannibal, Mo., plant. And he claims BASF senior bosses in Germany approved of the illegal union busting.

Stone demands lost wages and punitive damages for defamation and breach of contract. He is represented by James Arruebarrena of New Orleans.

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