Why Trader Joe’s Workers Are Unionizing

A Trader Joe’s store in Hadley, Massachusetts made history on July 28^th, 2022, when it became the first store in the chain’s history to unionize. Workers approved the union in a 45-31 vote.

In a statement to the press, a Trader Joe’s spokesperson said, “We are prepared to immediately begin discussions with union representatives for the employees at this store to negotiate a contract. We are willing to use any current union contract for a multi-state grocery company with stores in the area, selected by the union representatives, as a template to negotiate a new structure for the employees in this store; including pay, retirement, healthcare, and working conditions such as scheduling and job flexibility.”

In reaction to the affirmative union vote, Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) tweeted, “Congratulations to everyone who made this possible— you are an inspiration!” The store is among the latest retail and foodservice operations to become unionized.

Maeg Yosef is a longtime Trader Joe’s crewmember and a co-founder of Trader Joe’s United.

Errol Schweizer: What do you like about working at Trader Joe’s?

Trader Joe’s United: What I like most about working there from when I started up until now is the people that I work with. I work with energetic, fun, intelligent, friendly and caring people.

Errol Schweizer: I can totally relate to that. It’s probably the main reason why I worked at Whole Foods for so many years. I came in thinking I needed a temporary job and next thing you know, I made all these friends and connections.

So what was it like to work at Trader Joe’s during the COVID 19 pandemic?

Trader Joe’s United: At the beginning of the pandemic, it was pretty much like working in a mosh pit. At that time, the company offered workers an unpaid leave. And so I had a young child whose school had just shut down. We were doing remote learning and I was like, I’m taking that leave and I’m going to stay home and protect my kid and help him do remote school. And so that was my focus for most of that time. You know, for the crew that did continue to work during the pandemic, everyone had their own personal reaction to it. But from the people that I spoke with, it was definitely a stressful time. It was hard mentally. It was hard to feel at risk physically. But I personally can’t speak to that the way that other people would be able to.

Errol Schweizer: What was it like serving the customers?

Trader Joe’s United: The experience was really intense. The first couple of weeks of the pandemic, no one knew what was happening. And so it was literally like wall to wall people. We were taking in the biggest loads that we had ever taken in. There was definitely a lot of fear. People are afraid that they wouldn’t get what they needed, it was very chaotic. Overall, I would say that our customers were okay. We have great customers and they have a great community there. There’s always outliers that are hard to deal with. But on the whole, I would say that our customers have been great.

Errol Schweizer: Trader Joe’s is really well known for a cool and unique assortment. It’s a very different product set than most grocery stores. How were the out of stocks and what was able to come in?

Trader Joe’s United: There have definitely been supply chain issues. We had a lot of things that got stuck in port. We’ve had to set limits on how much we can order based on the trucks that are available. So that piece has definitely been a challenge, but at the same time, there’s still always food on the shelf. There’s a lot of choices. So I feel like part of that is also that people are so used to getting a world where you get everything that you want all the time, and we’re just not in that world anymore. So there’s still food. It’s just not always what exactly you want all the time.

Errol Schweizer: So how did management handle some of these challenges?

Trader Joe’s United: You know, I think that they have done the best that they could do in such a challenging time. And I feel like it’s stressful for everybody, including management. So they’re also just following what the company is dictating. And we’re following community mandates. So if there’s a mask mandate in town, then we follow that. But if it drops away, then the store itself will not have an independent mask mandate. So we’re definitely taking cues from corporate as well as what’s happening legally at the local level.

Errol Schweizer: Why did Trader Joe’s workers start organizing?

Trader Joe’s United: We started organizing in response to working through the pandemic. There was a feeling of being underappreciated, undervalued during the pandemic. There’s also some changes that happened with the company, starting around ten years ago, changes to our health care plan, changes to our retirement, and then most recently, our guaranteed retirement was done away with entirely. So we used to have a guaranteed contribution equal to 15% of our annual earnings, which is how things were when I started 18 years ago, but around several years ago, that dropped to 10%. And then quietly last summer the policy was changed so that we might receive a discretionary contribution. But there’s no longer any guaranteed retirement contribution whatsoever, according to our handbook. And so for those who are veteran crew people who are seeing retirement age on the horizon, who have been trying to plan for that, that was really tough to take.

I discovered in December of 2021 that Covid-leave had been available through the state of Massachusetts for people who got sick. But the crew at our store, we did not find out about that until seven months in. So it was like seven months of people thinking that they had no recourse to get paid if they got COVID, especially, if we are exposed to it all day at work. And so that was really upsetting to know that people are struggling, do I go to work today and get paid but maybe risk getting someone else sick or do I stay home and not get paid? So it was a cumulative effect of all of those things. Over time, we felt that there was a clear direction that the company was going in with our pay and benefits, and we wanted to do something about it. And the only way to really have a say in your workplace and to negotiate with your employer is to form a union. So that’s what we started to do.

Errol Schweizer: What are some of the goals and objectives of Trader Joe’s United?

Trader Joe’s United: Well, negotiating is a democratic process. So the specific assets that we would bring to the table will be decided later through surveying the crew and having discussions. But the big buckets are benefits, like retirement, our pay, which is not keeping up with inflation at all, and safety issues, both pandemic related safety issues and on the job day to day. So those are all things that we hope to look at and improve on.

Errol Schweizer: How has Trader Joe’s management responded to these efforts?

Trader Joe’s United: Well, when we first went public, a small group of us went to our manager and we were like, we want to give you the courtesy of telling you this in person, we’re going to form a union. And his response was to give us a letter that promised not to delay the election and that they welcomed a fair vote. Since then, we have not found management or corporate to be very welcoming to the idea of a union. There’s been quite a bit of union busting activity happening, which is fine. We expected it. We did not think that this was going to be an easy path and we were prepared for those things to happen. So one of the things that happened was that we created union buttons. We tried wearing them to work. At first, people were told that they needed to take them off or go home. Then people were told that wearing the button could affect your review in a negative way. Then people were told that there might be disciplinary consequences, but we have no idea what those may be, which in a way is even more threatening because you’re like, Am I going to get fired if I keep wearing it? Like, what will happen? So at this point, we have decided to comply. And meanwhile we have filed unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board. But we know that our right to wear a union button is protected by the NLRB. So we just hope that that gets resolved soon. But, we know that companies like to union bust and so we had prepared ourselves for that.

Errol Schweizer: So what does this feel like then when you’re at work?

Trader Joe’s United: It’s definitely uncomfortable. Some of it has gotten personal, which is a distraction, like my personal life or my schedule or medical history. Those things have all come under scrutiny. And that’s bizarre to me because it’s truly irrelevant to whether or not a union will benefit us as a crew. And so I feel like those are distractions. Will a union benefit us as crew members? That’s an easy answer. It will give us a say in our workplace, it’s the only thing that mandates that the company listen to us and work with us on building a contract together. So I’m a big fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and there is a drag queen whose motto is “just like water off a duck’s back”. And so that is what I’m channeling.

Errol Schweizer: How has the community in Hadley responded?

Trader Joe’s United: Customers are thrilled. They are very excited. They want to know how to help. The best thing a customer can do is just come in and say, “We would be so excited to shop in a unionized Trader Joe’s”.

Errol Schweizer: How can readers support Trader Joe’s United?

Trader Joe’s United: Give us encouragement and just go in the stores and tell the crew that you’re excited to see a unionized Trader Joe’s. That really lifts our spirits when people come in and tell us that.