UKIAH, CA., 5/22/26 — The board of Ukiah Natural Foods Co-op spoke publicly for the first time this week, more than three weeks after most of the store’s staff walked off the job and the board fired Robert Drake, its new general manager.
In a written statement to the Mendocino Voice, the board said it shares “a deep and genuine commitment to our community” and pledged to “move this organization forward.” It said it could not comment further, citing California personnel law.
The store anchors downtown Ukiah at Gobbi and South State streets. Its 6,371 member-owners run a cooperative grocery in a county that takes its food seriously. Local farmers, ranchers, and home cooks rely on the store, and many of them help stock its shelves. The co-op is a community institution.
Board secretary Christine Rodrigues sent the statement on behalf of the board of directors. It reads in full:
The members of this board share a deep and genuine commitment to our community and to preserving our cooperative grocery store as a vital part of it. We are here only because we believe in what this co-op represents: the importance of independent business, the value of local agriculture, and the power of a community choosing to invest in itself.
We know this has been a difficult period for our organization, our staff, and our community. Unfortunately, we are unable to comment further, as this remains a personnel matter governed by California law.
This board is united in its determination to move this organization forward and create something strong enough to serve this community for decades to come.
In cooperation,
The Board of Directors
Ukiah Natural Foods
In a separate note, Rodrigues said the board’s May meeting “was attended by 14 member-owners, and was productive and respectful.” She said the minutes will be public after the board approves them at its next regular meeting, on June 15.
Fourteen member-owners is about two-tenths of one percent of the co-op’s ownership.
The statement repeats the board’s values. It does not explain how Robert Drake, who is listed on a sex offender registry for a decades-old incident, was hired, what background check the board ran, or what the board has decided to do about replacing Drake or engaging staff since the walkout. It does not say whether a recording or transcript of the May meeting exists.
How we got here
- Lori Rosenberg managed the store for roughly four decades.
- After Rosenberg left, an interim general manager served for a period the board has not described.
- The board hired Robert Drake as general manager. The board has not made the date of his hire public.
- On April 27, more than half the co-op’s staff walked off the job.
- Days later, the board fired Drake.
- On May 8, The Mendocino Voice published its first report on the crisis.
- This week, the board issued its statement through Christine Rodrigues.
- On June 15, the board meets again. The May meeting minutes become public once the board approves them.
That’s nice. The Coop Board still must be replaced.
See, people like this with nothing to add but hatred. This is the problem. The board is a bunch of hippy volunteers who get a discount when they shop. Are you going to give up your free time to talk about which organic grape tomatoes to stock and then get attacked online for your decisions? No you’re just an online troll. I’m tired of people like you John C. Tokalenko.
*Replying to Olivia
The employees have a right to decline working for a sex offender. Your sympathies for convicted sex offenders is irrelevant to other people’s rights to work for or shop at a store managed by a sex offender.
You can tell people to grow up, but a business needs costumers and employees and this is not a good way of achieving that. I’m proud of my former coworkers for standing up for what’s right.
If anyone wonders why the Epstein Class can “get away with it,” look no further than this message board. Pedophiles, fellow-travelers, and pedophile-enablers are clearly pervasive throughout society now. These “privacy protections” for sex offenders are another example of how pedophilia is increasingly becoming accepted.
The pedos and pedo enablers say, “He paid his debt to society.” Well, the pedo’s debt was actually to a young female victim, not to “society.” Let’s ask her about her life sentence.
Hiring a sex offender in California involves navigating specific legal protections and strict prohibitions depending on the industry. Generally, California law prohibits employers from using sex offender registry data to make employment decisions unless a specific exception applies. The exceptions are educators working with children, caregivers of the elderly and disabled, etc. There is also a time limit for these kinds of hiring restrictions, which varies by state. I believe it is 7 years in California. Also, Employers can face civil liability and damages if they unfairly use registry data for employment actions. It seems like a tricky situation at best, and in retrospect, consulting an HR person with specialized training in this issue would be worth considering. I have heard that the board did allow the staff to meet with the prospective managers before making their decision. This has been unfortunate for everyone involved. Removing a hard-working volunteer board is not appropriate in my view. Informing ourselves, – our co-op and its members,
about these more difficult hiring situations will be helpful going forward, and perhaps hiring an HR specialist, when necessary, should be considered to avoid legal entanglements.
This is very true. Non discrimination means just that, non discrimination. And time served means from a legal perspective that people have paid for their mistake and are allowed to be free, with certain restrictions as you pointed out. It’s a tricky position to be in. A business is not going to achieve a full happy outcome in this scenario. They have to balance laws, regulations, rights, a cohesive working environment, weigh personal biases, all while adhering to their mission. Lots of ethical decisions to balance here. We could look at this from another perspective, should we all pay higher taxes so people who have been convicted, done time, able bodied are not allowed to work? I’m personally more worried about those who have not been caught than those who have done all the steps to be free, that’s not condoning the behavior, but acknowledging the system. If we don’t like the system, change it. But, there are always two sides and perspectives. From my brief perspective into the issue, the co-op would have the highest liability and risk basing hires on discrimination. From my uneducated perspective it was portrayed as a sneaky, not following standard operating procedure for hires situation. Not cool, but that’s how many agencies around here act.
“Privacy protections” for sex offenders, especially pedophiles, are an abomination. It is an example of how pedophilia and sex offenses are becoming more accepted (despite all the feminist spew about “me, too!”). Common decency commands the righteous person to IGNORE such “laws” as they are, to put it mildly, unjust. While I didn’t expect the Board to overtly “violate the law,” one or more of them could have easily stood up for a young female victim, and potential other victims among customers and staff, and figured out “something” to make sure his candidacy was derailed.
Affirming Sheila’s comment as a member/owner.
The guy did his time. I think that Facebook post was a lot of drama by a townie loser who wanted to feel like he was a morally superior and this wouldn’t be news if we were in a real city. The manager would still be there unless he was bothering people, and the nosey dramatic guy would get fired for harassing other employees. I haven’t seen any evidence that this manager did anything wrong. Are we blacklisting people for life for their crimes now that we have social media? Are we agreeing as a town that people cannot change? This guy had to go to prison and now he has to move every couple years because neither liberals nor conservatives are able to practice forgiveness and give people fresh starts? What about all of those undocumented immigrants with domestic violence charges? I remember everyone being pretty forgiving about that. Shame on all of you people for not living up to your values just so you can feel better than someone else. I don’t see any church members on here saying people can change. You’re still funding homeless shelters for people with worse records. You’re just as judgemental as the people in Texas.
The issue is NOT as some here maintain whether or not a registered sex offender should be restricted from finding honest work but whether he or she should be allowed to find such work in an environment that is not dissimilar to what led to the original offense in the first place and whether the co-op’s employees should have anything to say about who the store hires as it general manager.
The question before the voting members of the co-op is whether its directors’ failing to notify the employees of their new general manager’s admittedly tainted past is sufficient reason for their removal while the absence of any significant number of UNF’s work staff, which this petition is designed to address, might prevent such a hiring problem from recurring in the future.
He “did his time”?
Did he pay his debt to the victim? She has a life-sentence.
When it comes to protecting kids, yeah, I’m VERY judgmental, and make absolutely no apologies for it.
TEXAS.YEEE HAWWW! What the heck does Texas have to do with this you low down no good rascally wabbit. The stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas. Lets go to Luckenbach Texas with Willie and Waylon and the boys. All my ex’s live in Texas.
A transplant from SF, have no comment on this hire/fire incident. Sex offender can cover all sorts of things, from statutory rape to short eyes, and anyone registered as such basically loses any credibility. It’s a tough world …
This article is another poorly written, poorly researched article that does not reflect the usual high standards of the MV’s investigative journalism. It is plainly one-sided, based mostly on hearsay from unnamed sources or a single letter without follow-up questions or quotes from actual interviews, much less any substantiative research.
The board “could not comment further, citing personnel law” because it could expose them AS WELL AS THE CO-OP ITSELF to possible liability. Apparently, as pointed out in Sheila’s previous comment, it’s a pretty complicated subject that involves many different employment scenarios and circumstances on a state and even national level. I imagine that member-owned, cooperative grocery stores are particularly complicated in their governance and policy restrictions.
Mr. Coryell, rather than make veiled accusatory insinuations, you should try looking into the general legal policies that would guide the type of hiring decisions you allude to. For example, how was Robert Drake hired? Probably by following the State’s employer laws and the Co-op’s own by-laws. See if you can get a copy and come back with that information.
What has the board done about replacing Drake or engaging staff? Too bad you didn’t watch the public board Zoom meeting, but I bet there will be minutes if you can wait long enough before your next damning article. This is a complicated, ongoing, emotional issue that takes time and sensitivity to resolve. Your article does nothing to help that process. It only makes it worse.
If there’s a story here, it’s about how this local business grew from a tiny, neighborhood buying club to the busy, attractive, community grocery store that it is today. I personally love the Co-op for its community-centered mission, its staff, its culture, its fresh organic produce, and, yes, the unseen work done in the background by its volunteer board. As you say, the Co-op is a “community institution,” and its leaders are an important part of it. Let’s allow them do their difficult job, maybe even thank them for it.
You: “Let’s allow them do their difficult job, maybe even thank them for it.”
“Let’s allow those who ran interference for the Epstein Class to do their jobs, maybe even thank them for it.”
I’ve said for a long time, that after other sexual deviancies were “accepted,” that pedophilia, too, would be “accepted” by “society.” It’s happening.
If anyone wonders why the Epstein Class can “get away with it,” look no further than this message board. Pedophiles, fellow-travelers, and pedophile-enablers are clearly pervasive throughout society now. These “privacy protections” for sex offenders are another example of how pedophilia is increasingly becoming accepted.
The pedos and pedo enablers say, “He paid his debt to society.” Well, the pedo’s debt was actually to a young female victim, not to “society.” Let’s ask her about her life sentence.
Wow. Now you are comparing our Co-op’s board with the Epstein cover-up pedophilia-enablers? I’m glad you are upset about the lack of transparency and exposure regarding the Epstein files. You should be. I think most of the thinking nation is. However, you use extremely false logic in comparing that infamous series of crimes and cover-up at the highest levels of our federal government to the Co-op board’s likely justified decision to hire Mr. Drake. As Sheila says above, there is a seven-year restriction on employers’ access to outdated criminal records. Our board didn’t know about Drake’s alleged crime. In fact, we don’t even know if it was eventually dismissed, because the one Facebook court record you are basing your judgement on is incomplete and outdated.
Please think about it: Even if the serious crime was commited as you assume it was, the Board did not commit it. They did not “enable” or “protect” the criminal. They had no way of knowing about it.
If you hope to get support from people in this “message board” for your arguments, you should stop insulting them. We are not pedos and pedo enablers. We are members of the community who actually care about an important community service and social hub here in Mendocino County. It is a member-owned business. Anyone can attend a board meeting, except closed sessions about personnel matters for–yes–legally-binding confidentiality reasons. I suspect very few people ever do. Are you even a member?
You know, easy solution for you is to just stop shoppng at the Co-op. If you have managed to find any other shoppers or employees who are on board with your false analogies and accusations, they can follow you. In the meantime, everyone else should do all they can to keep the Co-op running and moving into the future. And yes, those who care can and should thank the board for being the point people for doing that, because they care enough to do the work for the rest of us and take the heat from people like you.
Wow. Another pedophile / sexual abuse enabler makes the statement, “the Co-op board’s likely justified decision to hire Mr. Drake.”
“Likely justified.”
There are two options:
1) the Board knew, and hired him anyway;
2) the Board did not know, and the hiree was not honorable & honest enough to voluntarily disclose any “difficulties” his past might cause the Coop. This is true even if he was “merely” charged, but not convicted. Don’t start spewing about “the law.” The hiree is not restrained from volunteering such information.
Did Mr. Drake have a “relationship” with a girl starting at 13 and which degenerated to “relations,” while he was in a position of authority, as a gym teacher? Yes or no. That’s really the only question we need answered.
You: “everyone else should do all they can to keep the Co-op running and moving into the future.”
A future where pedophilia, sexual assault, abuse of authority, and covering up such outrageous crimes is just a minor transgression? You can keep that. It’s clear you’re aligned with the Epstein Class despite your pretense. Your only “problem” with them is because Trump is the “wrong party.”
I suspect the next step for you enablers will be to make it a “hate crime” to expose pedophiles.
To clarify for Jeff B and others: the acceptable job classifications that a sex offender cannot apply for are those with vulnerable clients like young students and the elderly. I do not believe that working for a grocery store would be on the restricted list.
Also, there is a time limitation on applying these restrictions which varies by state. I believe it is only 7 years in California, so not for life as some are calling for here.
Our co-op needs to operate within the state guidelines to avoid legal entanglements.
It’s incredible how far we’ve fallen in a few years, from “Me, too!”/”Believe women!” to “pedophiles have rights and we must respect them at all costs.”
Writing as a co-op member for more than two decades and appreciating the quality of organic foods it offers at reasonable prices, what has disturbed me about this issue, on learning about it and signing the petition on the bulletin board a few weeks ago, has been, what at least in my eyes, the rapid turnover of employees with the attending posted sign that the Co-op is hiring which seems always part of its outside bulletin board.
Quite apart from its permanence, that seems to be an indication that working there is not without its pratfalls and/or pitfalls, that, up to this point. the employee representation on the board has been kept to a bare minimum where as a much larger co-op, a fixture at the beginning of San Francisco’s Mission District, is entirely employee owned and managed and has been since opening as a small storefront, selling food out of boxes on the floor in the late 60s or early 70s.
I would hope that the present board and the voting members of the public will use the June 7th ballot to enlarge its employee representation and get past the “holier than thou” tone expressed by some in these comments.
John T
Pedophiles are in no way accepted by this society . They get busted all the time. The police have people who only hunt them down full time . Mixing pedophiles in with transgender, gay and other ADULTS who just to live their lives is to me a personality disorder on your part . I want pedophiles to all go die too . But you got deeper issues my friend.
Are you the nut job who posts on next door photos of people around town you don’t approve of ?
I’m glad they canned him though
He could always work at the dump
Elliott spews:
“Pedophiles are in no way accepted by this society”
LOL, right here on this message board we have people apologizing for (defending) one! “He paid his ‘debt to society,'” acting as though his debt TO THE VICTIM is now erased. And, “but his ‘rights’!”
I guess calling them pedophiles is “offensive” now – “Minor-Attracted Persons,” right?
“The police have people who only hunt them down full time.”
LOL
I’m sure they’re making arrests for the Epstein Class RIGHT NOW. (ROTFLMAO)
“Mixing pedophiles in with transgender, gay and other ADULTS who just to live their lives is to me a personality disorder on your part .”
HA HA HA HA HA HA
Man, you’re killing me! I’m choking from laughing so hard!
The freak who makes MANY ASSumptions about me claims *I* have a personality disorder?!? HA HA HA HA HA
Not sure exactly what you’re referring to, to be honest. But, let’s accept the fact that most Sodomites were molested when they were little kids, leading to their sexual deviancy in adulthood. They are inextricably linked, whether you like it or not. “Before eight or it’s too late,” a mantra of “alternative lifestyle” types.
“But you got deeper issues my friend.”
With “friends” like you, who needs enemies?
“Are you the nut job who posts on next door photos of people around town you don’t approve of ?”
ASSumptions are your thing.
“I’m glad they canned him though”
No, you’re not. You’re just trying to do “public relations” for deviants.
I have much experience hiring people for public contact jobs. Someone with Mr. Drake’s history requires much more due diligence than the Board members involved in his hiring exhibited, if the reporting is accurate. It’s also odd to me that Drake has crisscrossed the country in pursuit of his employment. That should have raised a glaring red flag and prompted the Board members to pursue and thoroughly investigate each reference, which I’m skeptical that they did.
So here are the issues as I see them. You’re free to disagree.
1. A lack of transparency in the hiring process: three members of the Board met in a closed session and decided to hire Mr. Drake, apparently without input from any of the other Board members, HR representative, the recently retired General Manager with 40 years of experience at the Co-op, or a legal entity. Nor were any current employees (especially young women) consulted as to concerns they might have about Drake.
2. The Board is refusing to reveal what, if any, vetting and background checks were done. Citing California personnel law doesn’t apply to that aspect of the hiring process. I’m well aware that previous employers are reluctant to reveal any negative issues for fear of being sued, but there are ways around it that an experienced HR professional would know.
3. More than half of the current employees walked off their job. That alone speaks volumes about their discomfort with Drake.
I was a fully vested member of the Co-op for more than 15 years. Recently I decided to cancel my membership because I was disappointed in the direction it was heading. This is not the forum to go into the whys and wherefores of my decision. I still buy some items at the Co-op and hope it remains a viable asset to the community.
“More than half of the current employees walked off their job. That alone speaks volumes about their discomfort with Drake.” It makes sense that the employees would do so, and their grievances are justified. But as far as I can tell, this assertion came only from the Ukiah Caught on Camera Facebook page and was not verified by an independent source, such as a Co-op employee. None of the pseudonymous posters on that Facebook page are employed by or associated with the Co-op, and it’s not clear where this allegation came from. Much of the reporting on this shit show, both on social media and in Mr. Coryell’s writing here is based on hearsay and conjecture and does not include the voices and opinions of the employees advocated for here. Of course, they’re likely barred from speaking publicly about this issue.
Politicians and other power addicted psychopaths rant on and about “Sexual Deviance “ and then get caught being perverted weirdos. Look up the notable weirdos who got busted after ranting about this topic .
So seems John T is wiggling into the same type of behavior.
Hope the police come check John’s computer
How many children HAVE you molested, Elliott?
Your accusation is your confession.
You’re lucky this isn’t generations ago. You’d get yourself a knuckle sandwich or more for what you just accused me of without even a shred of justification.
My family LITERALLY kills pedophiles. And yes, we’re happy to admit it.