TACOMA – They thought they were doing the right thing, but for five grocery store workers, trying to stop some shoplifters was enough to get them fired.

"I'm really hurt by this and I'm hurt by this because I've been with them for 24 years. I have a clean record," said Teresa Wood.

During all those years working at more than a dozen different Albertson's stores, Teresa Wood has dealt with plenty of shoplifters. But a couple of weeks ago, at the store at 38th and Pacific in Tacoma, a pair of incidents were enough to end her career with the company.

"I've been loyal and I don't think they've done right by me when I was doing what I thought was best," she added.

In the main incident, Wood says when she spotted a woman trying to steal some merchandise, she, a few other employees, and even a couple of customers rushed in to stop that agitated suspect from leaving the store.

There are indications that the woman was physically detained by some of the workers and that appears to be the main reason Albertson's decided to fire them.

"I feel an obligation to not just myself, because somebody's doing a wrong, but to the company also. They're stealing company property," she said.

All around the outside of this Albertson's building, there are security cameras and there are cameras inside that apparently show the aftermath of the shoplifting incidents.

But the employees said that the company has not allowed them to see any of that videotape.

"I have been a very good employee. To get dismissed like this, all I could say on the phone when they called me was 'wow!'" said Julie Eisenfeld.

Eisenfeld jotted down the given reasons for her dismissal, which included putting the company in danger of a potential lawsuit. She insists that she never touched any shoplifting suspect with good reason.

"I didn't want to touch her, and I didn't feel comfortable touching her because you don't know if these people have weapons, and, like I said, she had needles on her," she said.

Albertson's would only tell KING 5 that the employees violated the company's zero tolerance rules – rules that the workers allege were never clearly outlined until they lost their jobs.

"It was unclear as to what policy was," said Wood.

Some of the former workers who are in the union are now filing grievances against Albertson's.