The union for Trader Joe’s workers could be growing in the coming days.
Employees at the stores in New York City and Oakland, Calif., are expected to vote on joining Trader Joe’s United on either April 19 or April 20.
Stores in Hadley, Mass., Minneapolis and Louisville already have union workers. Employees at the Oakland Trader Joe’s have been disgruntled for a while and have already filed unfair labor practices against the company. The workers claim Trader Joe’s tried to get in the way of the union effort and made threats to take action. Currently there are no New York City or Oakland stores with union workers. Workers at a Trader Joe’s in Brooklyn, N.Y., decided not to unionize last October. In early 2022, employees at a Boulder, Colo., store withdrew a petition to join the union.
According to Trader Joe’s United, workers at the NYC and Oakland locations have filed plans with the National Labor Relations Board. The union is accusing Trader Joe’s of cutting employee retirement benefits, offering low wages and failing to address safety concerns.
The Hadley, Mass., store was the first to pull together a union under the Trader Joe’s name back on July 28, 2022. Employees voted 45-31 in favor of the move, and before unionizing were not happy with pay, healthcare and retirement benefits and safety.
“Today, Trader Joe’s Hadley became the first unionized Trader Joe’s location ever. This victory is historic but not a surprise. 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,” Trader Joe’s United said in a letter on the union vote result in a July 28 tweet. “We now must begin the difficult work of sitting down at the negotiating table as equals with our employer and securing a contract that will benefit and protect us, the Crew, instead of the company’s bottom line.”
Trader Joe’s denied there were issues with pay and benefits when the Hadley union was formed.
“Trader Joe’s offers its crew members a package of pay, benefits and working conditions that is among the best in the grocery business,” Trader Joe’s stated. “Despite this, employees in our Hadley, Mass., store recently voted to be represented by a union. We are prepared to immediately begin discussions with union representatives for the employees at this store to negotiate a contract.”
