Trump hobbles NLRB on same day Whole Foods votes to join unionTrump hobbles NLRB on same day Whole Foods votes to join union

While the news of tariffs, immigration roundups, and dozens of executive orders have flooded headlines over the past two weeks, workers at a Philadelphia Whole Foods Market have continued their push toward unionization—but that effort is also seeing pushback from the newly formed Trump Administration. 

Whole Foods workers voted 130 to 100 in late January in favor of joining the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 1776. That vote started the clock ticking on a Feb. 3 deadline for the Amazon-owned grocery chain to submit objections to the National Labor Relations Board to block the effort.

Whole Foods submitted its objections, citing a wide range of arguments, claiming, among other things, that UFCW 1776 promised a 30% wage increase to employees if they voted to unionize.  

Whole Foods also argued that UFCW unlawfully “provided team members … free transportation to and from work on the day of the election” and “intimidated team members who … publicly opposed the unionization efforts or otherwise did not bend a knee to the union.”

Among the most notable of the five objections Whole Foods claimed in the document was its argument that the National Labor Relations Board fails to hold a quorum to certify the election results and that the Region 4 NLRB Regional Director Kimberly Andrews lacks the jurisdiction to certify the election results. 

UFCW Local 1776 President Wendell Young IV said in an interview with Supermarket News that the vacancy on the three-member NLRB panel is the result of President Trump’s firing of NLRB Board Member Gwynne Wilcox on the same day the Philadelphia Whole Foods employees cast their votes. Trump also fired the NLRB’s general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, according to the Washington Post.

The newspaper reported on Wednesday that Wilcox filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Columbia, arguing that her dismissal violates the National Labor Relations Act, which prohibits the president from firing a board member without cause. 

The union sees it as a stalling tactic. 

Whole Foods declined to a request for an interview but said in an email that the union “illegally interfered with our team members' right to a fair vote at our Philly Center City store.” 

“We have filed objections to these illegal actions and have asked the NLRB to set aside the results of the election,” the company said, according to an email by Whole Foods spokesperson Rachel Malish. 

Young said Whole Foods’ claim that the election cannot be certified by the regional director is “completely untrue.”

“There’s long-established rules and regulations within the NLRB that provide for the regional director to certify elections,” Young said. “There is no rule that says they can’t do that because there’s a vacancy at the national level … and in fact, the rules were developed in the event of vacancies, because vacancies are not uncommon. When people’s terms expire and getting board members approved can sometimes take time, and the whole process is designed so that these kinds of issues can continue to be processed despite vacancies.”

Young also refuted Whole Foods’ claim that providing workers with a ride to the store on the day of the vote constitutes bribery. He called it “a little more than disingenuous,” noting that Whole Foods similarly offered employees a ride to the store that day in the form of a free code via rideshare company Uber. 

“It is not uncommon for employers and unions and other groups to help people exercise their right to vote,” he added. 

Young also argued against claims that union representatives intimidated employees who openly opposed the unionization effort. Whole Foods said in the objection that union members “cornered team members and engaged in intimidation and aggressive threats …” but gave no examples. 

Conversely, Young said Whole Foods launched both an intimidation campaign and a charm initiative in late 2024, once word about the unionization effort became public. That involved bringing in more than 100 Whole Foods employees “to be really nice and friendly and provide all kinds of courtesy treatment to these people and these workers, and provide free food and snacks, and be their friends so they could find out where their intentions lie with their votes.” 

They also began firing managers at the store to intimidate workers, he said. 

“You know, it starts with captive audience meetings, and then the implied threats and intimidation and coercion. And then, of course, employers tend to fire one or more people to make examples of union supporters and fire them for things that other people don’t get fired for and haven't been fired for, and make examples of them,” he said. 

While the drama playing out on the union effort is localized to a single store, the case could have far-reaching implications for unions and the grocery industry.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Trump’s firing of Wilcox could face a legal challenge and be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Both Jeff Bezos, executive chairman of Amazon, and Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, have argued in separate NLRB cases that the board is itself an unconstitutional panel due to its combination of judicial, executive, and legislative powers, according to the Washington Post.

They argue that such labor-related cases should be sent to a conventional court. The story noted that Amazon has used the argument to stall negotiations with Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island who voted to unionize in 2022. 

Young said the stalled negotiations with warehouse workers have “emboldened workers to dig in and take a stand.”

“The bottom line here is Jeff Bezos and Amazon/Whole Foods, they lost this election. These workers won the right under the law fair and square to be represented by a union, and this company has an obligation to sit down and start bargaining,” Young said.