A Ford assembly worker is requesting reinstatement after being fired for allegedly stealing less than $8 worth of snacks, stating he has no ill will towards the company or the United Auto Workers union. Nick Nabozny, 38, said his termination in April has depleted his savings, forcing him to cash out approximately $78,000 from his 401(k) to support his family while he awaits action from Ford and the UAW.
Nabozny, who has worked at Ford for nearly nine years with a spotless attendance record, believes his union representative failed to adequately defend him. "My union rep should have stood up and did their job," Nabozny stated. "They should have never let me go."
He recounted stopping at a self-service marketplace after an overtime shift. Surveillance footage, he said, showed him interacting with the kiosk after selecting Doritos and Ritz crackers. Nabozny stated he tapped his debit card and waited for the transaction to register. He was informed more than two weeks later, upon returning from a family trip, that the company intended to terminate him for theft.
According to Nabozny, a company representative acknowledged that the video appeared to show him attempting to pay, but explained that the transaction timed out after he left the kiosk, which was then considered theft. Nabozny maintains he was unaware the transaction had failed and had no reason to believe there was an issue. "I was not aware that the transaction did not go through until the 27th [of April]," he said.
Nabozny expressed that jeopardizing his livelihood and family's security over inexpensive snacks would be illogical, especially given his long tenure and previous rewards, including a $100 gift card for perfect attendance last year. He noted that at least four other workers in his division have reportedly been fired for similar alleged snack thefts.
The Detroit Free Press has reported that at least three workers at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant who were fired over alleged snack thefts have since been reinstated after investigations cleared them. Ford has acknowledged some issues with kiosk functionality and stated it is working with its food-services vendor, Aramark, to review these situations. Aramark has also stated it is reviewing the instances in question.
In a separate case, former Ford electrician Kurt Kromm was reportedly fired after a kiosk appeared to show he did not pay for a $1.95 package of cookies. Kromm later found the charge on his bank statement, proved he had paid, and was reinstated with back wages but declined to return to the company.