The Workers Trapped In The Pet Cremation Monopoly

Gateway Services, the undisputed giant of the North American pet cremation industry, stands accused by the Federal Trade Commission of weaponizing post-employment non-compete agreements against its own workforce.

By trapping more than 1,780 employees (from high-level executives to hourly drivers and facility laborers) in restrictive contracts, Gateway effectively stifled competition, suppressed wages, and dismantled the job mobility of the very people who sustain its operations.

This case represents a brutal intersection of corporate greed and the systemic failure of corporate social responsibility. While the company shuttered dozens of facilities, it ensured that its former workers remained legally barred from practicing their trade, illustrating the predatory nature of neoliberal capitalism at its most clinical.

The details that follow reveal a chilling blueprint of how modern monopolies maintain their grip on the market by treating human labor as a proprietary asset. We invite you to read on to understand the true cost of this misconduct.

Table of Contents

• The Myth of the Free Market: Gateway’s Stranglehold
• Allegations and the Timeline of Systematic Exploitation
• Economic Fallout: The Human Cost of Corporate Greed
• Neoliberal Capitalism and the Erosion of Worker Autonomy
• Why This Matters for Public Health and Society

The Myth of the Free Market: Gateway’s Stranglehold

In the fucked up theater of neoliberal capitalism, we are frequently lectured on the virtues of the “free market…a mythical landscape where competition breeds excellence and the industrious are rewarded. However, the reality, suggests a much more sinister arrangement.

Gateway, which operates over 100 locations across North America, has used its dominant position to engage in an “unfair method of competition” by forcing nearly all of its U.S. employees to sign restrictive non-compete agreements.

These agreements are not merely aimed at protecting trade secrets among the executive class like what many leftists like me might want. Instead, they were applied indiscriminately to hourly laborers, “Operations Team Members” who operate crematories, and “Customer Service Representatives” who drive deceased pets from clinics.

By barring these workers from the industry for 12 months post-employment, Gateway effectively transformed the “free” labor market into a corporate fiefdom.

Allegations and the Timeline of Systematic Exploitation

The following timeline illustrates how Gateway methodically implemented and maintained these restrictive practices to the detriment of its workforce and the broader economy:

Economic Fallout: The Human Cost of Corporate Greed

The economic fallout of Gateway’s policy is measured in the suppressed potential of thousands of individuals. By preventing former employees from opening competing businesses or seeking better-paying roles at rival firms, Gateway directly contributed to a widening wealth disparity within the industry. This isn’t just a failure of corporate ethics; it is a calculated effort to ensure that labor remains cheap and compliant.

When Gateway closed its facilities, workers were left with an impossible choice: remain unemployed or leave the industry entirely for a year.

This tactic effectively neutralized the threat of new, smaller competitors (often started by former employees) thereby protecting Gateway’s monopoly and allowing it to dictate terms to grieving pet owners and veterinary clinics alike.

Neoliberal Capitalism and the Erosion of Worker Autonomy

The maintenance of power is represented by massive corporations like Gateway that use legal traps to suppress the working class. The use of non-competes for low-wage drivers and crematory operators is a form of corporate greed that strips workers of their only leverage: the ability to sell their labor to the highest bidder.

This systematic erosion of autonomy is a core feature of a system that prioritizes shareholder returns over the basic dignity of the person operating the kiln.

Why This Matters for Public Health and Society

The lack of corporate accountability in this case has broader implications for public health and societal well-being. When a single entity controls the majority of a sensitive industry like pet cremation, the quality of service and the mental health of the workforce are inevitably sacrificed on the altar of profit.

The FTC did a press release last month saying that the non-compete being done here is indeed illegal: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/11/ftc-approves-final-order-prohibiting-noncompete-enforcement-gateway-services