A group of United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) truck drivers have opted to unionize — a trend among UNFI truck workers since the start of the year.
Some 75 truckers out of Harrisburg, Pa., voted unanimously on Tuesday to join Teamsters Local 776.
During the month of May, more than 200 UNFI workers, most of them truck drivers, have joined unions, including employees in Pompano Beach, Fla., and Sarasota, Fla. Earlier this year workers in Georgia also unionized.
The Harrisburg workers filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board when UNFI attempted to outsource their jobs to nonunion company J.B. Hunt.
“Organizing to become Teamsters helped bring us together for a greater cause,” said Carlos Lugaro, a UNFI driver in Harrisburg. “I am proud that we held together in the face of turmoil and discomfort of an unknown future. We can now move forward with the confidence of knowing we are not alone.”
The Harrisburg group has said it wants improved wages, healthcare and retirement benefits, job security, and better working conditions.
“Drivers in Harrisburg showed courage and put it all on the line to secure this crucial victory,” said Tom Erickson, director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division. “This victory in Harrisburg is just another example of workers’ resolve to take control of their future.”
