Trader Joe’s workers in Hadley, Massachusetts, have voted to become the first among the company’s There are roughly 530 locations to unionize.
Workers voted 45-31 to unionize. Just over half of the 81 eligible workers cast a ballot for the union. Two months ago, the workers had already voted 45 to 31 to unionize. Announcement that they would be joining an independent union known as Trader Joe’s United, modeled after Amazon Labor Union’s effort in New York and across the country.
“This victory is historic, but not a surprise,” the union saidin a statement. “Since the moment we announced our campaign, a majority of the crew have enthusiastically supported our union, and despite the company’s best efforts to bust us, our majority has never wavered.”
The union stated that it is looking forward to negotiating the first contract with the company. They believe this will not only benefit Hadley workers, but also could help workers at nonunionized locations throughout the U.S.
“There is no Trader Joe’s without the crew. We must embrace this challenge head on, together, and negotiate a contract that reflects the values Trader Joe’s has long claimed to espouse,” the union wrote. “But for tonight, we celebrate. Tomorrow, and every other day, we’ll be ready to sit down, negotiate. Trader Joe’s, are you ready to join us?”
Similarly to the way that workers’ union efforts at Amazon, Starbucks REIThey have spread to two other places. other Trader Joe’s locationshave applied for union elections. In the last month, workers in MinneapolisBoulder, Colorado, and Boulder, Colorado have filed for union representation. However workers in Boulder are uniting with the United Food and Commercial Workers.
The company launched a union-busting campaign against the Massachusetts workers, just like many other workers who joined national chains. After they had announced their union effort in May the company began to attack them. company hiredAn anti-union law firm that pressures workers to vote against the union
Trader Joe’s United has filedThe company has been accused of committing unfair labor practices and committing anti-union acts. Pro-union workers said that the company has removed public literature from the store’s common area, restricted workers from discussing working conditions and pay, and prohibited wearing union insignia while on the job.
Workers also told HuffPost this week thatThe company was telling workers not vote for the union at captive audience meetings in advance of the election. Trader Joe’s United organizer Maeg Yosef said that the company pulled her off of the floor to talk about how difficult the union campaign has been on management.
“It was like [anti-union law firm]Littler Mendelson tried making a Lifetime movie,” Yosef said. “They were really trying to play to crew members’ feelings of sympathy and pull at our heartstrings…. The implication is, because it’s been challenging for management and a union could be challenging, we should vote ‘no.’”
The union vote was reacted to by the company, which has claimedIt offers workers excellent benefits, compensation, and working conditions.
Workers claim that the company, despite being progressive, has been treating its employees worse. Over the yearsEspecially when the pandemic began, in 2020, conditions were especially dire.
They claim that the company has cut back on staff. retirement benefitsand health care, Their salariesThe cost of living has not increased, so the benefits have not been affected. The company has retracted hazard payments and increased COVID-19 benefits. about a yearWorkers feel undervalued and threatened by the pandemic.
