Massachusetts Trader Joe’s Workers Seek Election to Form First Company Union –

Trader Joe’s employees in Massachusetts, which hope to form the food chain’s first union, said they have collected enough signatures from their employees to conduct an election at their store.

The Newborn Trade Union campaign, known as Trader Joe’s United, announced Wednesday that it had petitioned the National Labor Council to call for a vote for a store in Hadley, north of Springfield. The campaign is a new independent group not affiliated with the established union.

At least 30% of the workplace must sign union clearance papers for the NLRB to hold elections. Merchant Joe’s United said he collected too many signatures without offering an exact number. The Labor Council must consider workers ’motions to determine if they have exceeded the threshold and are eligible to vote.

A successful affiliate campaign with a Trader Joe’s store can quickly spread to a network of over 500 locations. Clearly this is what happened at Starbucks, where workers merged more than 120 stores in a matter of months after the company had not merged for decades.

Trader Joe’s spokesperson told HuffPost last week that he accepts the vote and he will not oppose it.

“We believe Trader Joe’s is a job and our salary, benefits and working conditions are among the best in the food industry. “We welcome a fair vote and we are ready to go to the polls if more than 30% of the crew want,” said Nakia Rohdem, a spokesperson for the company.

Merchant Joe’s has stopped union efforts in the past. In 2020, CEO Dan Bain called the Union a “Distraction” campaign. He said the union has not been able to improve Trader Joe’s offer. He called for a union vote where employees want.

HuffPost reported Tuesday that workers at the Hadley store have filed unfair labor practices against the company, accusing executives of interfering with union efforts. Two employees told HuffPost they were ordered to remove the pins or go home free of charge. According to the previous NLRB, there were certain circumstances in which an employer could legally request an employee to remove a trademark.

Meege Joseph, an 18-year-old Joe dealer and a spokesman for the union campaign, told HuffPost that he was among those told to remove the pins. He said the leadership even removed the union literature in the break room at one point. Joseph said that although the campaign did not have lawyers, labor lawyers advised workers on their rights.

“We have a lot of support and we’re just moving forward as much as possible,” he said.

Joseph said many workers ’views on Trader Joe have changed in recent years. The grocery store has long been considered a decent workplace with great benefits, but the company has taken some steps that have angered longtime employees. As HuffPost reported recently, this year it split retirement benefits for many workers, reducing the company’s 401 (k) contribution from 10% of annual salary to 5%.

Jamie Edwards, the organizer of the Hadley store, who has worked with merchant Joss for nine years, said the grocery store lost its luster as workers worked during the pandemic, feeling as if their safety concerns are taken seriously. Edwards ’pension contributions were reduced even though he held the position for nearly a decade.

“I feel like the company is doing everything it can to bring people together,” Edwards said.

Refusing to join a prominent union group, Trader Joe’s United followed a similar path toward the Amazon Labor Union, which caused a frightening commotion at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York earlier this year. ito. . Independent unions generally lack the resources and experience for well -funded labor campaigns, but are more immune to management attempts to portray them as “third parties” because everyone involved in the union is involved.

Election petitions are sometimes rejected after being filed if the union is found to lack sufficient support. This was the case initially with the Amazon Labor Union, which called for an election, withdrew the petition and then resubmitted it with a positive vote in March.

The union must obtain a simple majority of votes to become a union member. Unions typically go to the polls after gaining majority support in the workplace if we assume the company is conducting an aggressive campaign against the union that cuts support. But they can still be successful by only supporting a minority in elections, as the Amazon Labor Union did, as long as they continue to organize before the vote and increase their base.

Joseph said Hadley’s store was recently visited by Trader CEO Joe John Basalon, president of the chain of stores. The company said the visit was common practice, but Joseph said he believes it was really related to the union’s efforts.

“If they go here and they send John Basalone, I think it just means they’re really scared,” he said.