Trader Joe’s broke labor laws in effort to stop stores unionizing, workers say – By Michael Sainato (The Guardian) / Sept 4, 2022
Situation is notable as the company has cultivated a liberal brand ethos and anti-union moves are likely to dent that public image
Workers at Trader Joe’s successfully won union elections this year at stores in Hadley, Massachusetts, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, but workers now have numerous filed unfair labor practice charges against the specialty US supermarket chain, alleging the company has violated labor laws in trying to prevent further stores from unionizing.
The move comes as a wave of unionizing efforts sweeps through sections of the US economy, including at household names like Starbucks and Amazon. The situation at Trader Joe’s is especially notable as the firm has cultivated a liberal brand ethos and anti-union moves are likely to dent that public image.
In Boulder, Colorado, workers at a Trader Joe’s had filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union election in July to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7.
The same month, Trader Joe’s announced company-wide increases to compensation and benefits, including an increase to discounts for employees from 10 to 20%, a $10 an hour premium pay for Sundays, an increase to paid time off and market rate pay adjustments over complaints about pay disparities between longer term employees and new hires.
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