A group of Trader Joe’s employees in Massachusetts filed with a federal agency to hold a union election, joining other U.S. workers who are organizing to demand higher pay and better benefits.
If the effort is successful, the Trader Joe’s store in Hadley, Mass., would become the first unionized location at the privately held grocery chain, which operates more than 500 locations across the U.S. and is known for its quirky products and wine deals. Workers said more than 30% of store employees have submitted a card noting they want to be represented by a union, a requirement by the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election. The workers are represented by an independent labor organization, Trader Joe’s United.
The NLRB said it has received the petition and will proceed with a union election after the agency collects the required documents and verifies the workers’ interest in holding a vote.
Trader Joe’s didn’t respond to requests for comment Wednesday on the possible union vote.
The effort by the Trader Joe’s workers in Hadley is one in a series of recent unionization efforts, as workers push for expanded pay and benefits at a time when companies are struggling to fully staff stores, restaurants and factories.
The NLRB has certified unions at more than 70 Starbucks Corp. U.S. stores over the past year.
Amazon.com Inc.
employees on Staten Island, in New York City, in April formed the online retail giant’s first union in the U.S.
Unionized workers at companies ranging from
Kroger Co.
to
Deere
& Co. have held strikes over the past year, demanding better pay and benefits.
Trader Joe’s recently said that it prefers to speak directly with its “crew members,” as it calls store employees, and that it isn’t aware of any other national or regional grocery chain with as generous a retirement plan.
The company said in 2021 it contributed 10% of eligible compensation to the retirement plans of employees who had 10 or more consecutive years of service. For employees with less than 10 years of service, the company said it contributed 5%.
Maeg Yosef
has worked at the Hadley location for about 18 years and helped to organize the unionization effort. She said the combination of the pandemic, unionization efforts at other companies and erosion of benefits including 401(k) led Trader Joe’s workers to begin organizing.
In January, five store employees started discussing the prospect of forming a union, Ms. Yosef said. The group went public with their campaign in May, writing to Trader Joe’s Chief Executive
Dan Bane.
Trader Joe’s workers at the Hadley location want higher pay, more paid time off and additional safety measures given the physical nature of the job, she said.
A store manager in Hadley, Mass. wrote in a memo to employees last month saying that Trader Joe’s management welcomes a fair vote if more than 30% of the staff wants one, and that the company wouldn’t delay the process in any way.
“I believe our store is a great place to work and our compensation, benefits and working conditions are the best in the grocery business. But what really matters is what you believe,” the manager wrote in the memo viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Bane, Trader Joe’s CEO, wrote in a letter to employees in March 2020 that a “barrage of union activity” has been directed at Trader Joe’s and other nonunionized grocery chains, saying that union campaigns aimed to capitalize on the unstable environment in the U.S.
He wrote that being a Trader Joe’s employee beats being a member of a union, touting the company’s pay, opportunities for advancement and health benefits.
“When this current period of unrest has settled down, if there are 30% of the crew members in any store that tell us they want to have a union vote…we will,” Mr. Bane wrote.
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the June 9, 2022, print edition as ‘Trader Joe’s Workers File To Hold Union Election.’
A group of Trader Joe’s employees in Massachusetts filed with a federal agency to hold a union election, joining other U.S. workers who are organizing to demand higher pay and better benefits.
If the effort is successful, the Trader Joe’s store in Hadley, Mass., would become the first unionized location at the privately held grocery chain, which operates more than 500 locations across the U.S. and is known for its quirky products and wine deals. Workers said more than 30% of store employees have submitted a card noting they want to be represented by a union, a requirement by the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election. The workers are represented by an independent labor organization, Trader Joe’s United.
The NLRB said it has received the petition and will proceed with a union election after the agency collects the required documents and verifies the workers’ interest in holding a vote.
Trader Joe’s didn’t respond to requests for comment Wednesday on the possible union vote.
The effort by the Trader Joe’s workers in Hadley is one in a series of recent unionization efforts, as workers push for expanded pay and benefits at a time when companies are struggling to fully staff stores, restaurants and factories.
The NLRB has certified unions at more than 70 Starbucks Corp. U.S. stores over the past year.
Amazon.com Inc.
employees on Staten Island, in New York City, in April formed the online retail giant’s first union in the U.S.
Unionized workers at companies ranging from
Kroger Co.
to
Deere
& Co. have held strikes over the past year, demanding better pay and benefits.
Trader Joe’s recently said that it prefers to speak directly with its “crew members,” as it calls store employees, and that it isn’t aware of any other national or regional grocery chain with as generous a retirement plan.
The company said in 2021 it contributed 10% of eligible compensation to the retirement plans of employees who had 10 or more consecutive years of service. For employees with less than 10 years of service, the company said it contributed 5%.
Maeg Yosef
has worked at the Hadley location for about 18 years and helped to organize the unionization effort. She said the combination of the pandemic, unionization efforts at other companies and erosion of benefits including 401(k) led Trader Joe’s workers to begin organizing.
In January, five store employees started discussing the prospect of forming a union, Ms. Yosef said. The group went public with their campaign in May, writing to Trader Joe’s Chief Executive
Dan Bane.
Trader Joe’s workers at the Hadley location want higher pay, more paid time off and additional safety measures given the physical nature of the job, she said.
A store manager in Hadley, Mass. wrote in a memo to employees last month saying that Trader Joe’s management welcomes a fair vote if more than 30% of the staff wants one, and that the company wouldn’t delay the process in any way.
“I believe our store is a great place to work and our compensation, benefits and working conditions are the best in the grocery business. But what really matters is what you believe,” the manager wrote in the memo viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Bane, Trader Joe’s CEO, wrote in a letter to employees in March 2020 that a “barrage of union activity” has been directed at Trader Joe’s and other nonunionized grocery chains, saying that union campaigns aimed to capitalize on the unstable environment in the U.S.
He wrote that being a Trader Joe’s employee beats being a member of a union, touting the company’s pay, opportunities for advancement and health benefits.
“When this current period of unrest has settled down, if there are 30% of the crew members in any store that tell us they want to have a union vote…we will,” Mr. Bane wrote.
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the June 9, 2022, print edition as ‘Trader Joe’s Workers File To Hold Union Election.’