NLRB Says Trader Joe’s Illegally Fired Union Supporter, Retaliated Against Unionized Stores by Withholding Retirement Benefits

According to an updated complaint issued by the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday, Trader Joe’s illegally terminated long-term employee Steve Andrade and retaliated against workers at two unionized stores by refusing to give them the same retirement benefit as non-union stores.

On June 8, 2023, Trader Joe’s fired Steve Andrade, a vocal union supporter and employee at the Hadley, MA location who had worked for the company for nearly 18 years.

According to Trader Joe’s termination paperwork, the basis for the firing was Andrade’s failure to remove a small powertool from the store’s premises after he was initially asked to do so by management. However, the power tool in question, a jigsaw, did not belong to Andrade and predated the beginning of his tenure at the store.

After Mr. Andrade’s termination, workers at the Hadley store presented a petition for his reinstatement to Hadley management and held a walkout at the store. Employees also rallied outside of the company’s corporate offices in Boston, where they presented executives with a petition signed by over 27,000 community supporters demanding Mr. Andrade’s reinstatement.

The remedies sought by the Board for this unlawful termination include making Mr. Andrade financially whole, offering him reinstatement in Hadley, and an official letter from Trader Joe’s apologizing for any hardship or distress caused by his termination.

“The NLRB’s decision is not only a win for me and for Trader Joe’s United, but it’s also a positive sign for all Trader Joe’s crew members, regardless of whether they work in union or non-union stores,” said Mr. Andrade after the NLRB’s announcement. “For 18 years I believed in the company’s stated values. I believed that, no matter what disagreements there might be on policy, Trader Joe’s would honor its pledge to always act with integrity.  Sadly, what happened to me (and what has happened to many other crew members across the country) made it crystal clear that Trader Joe’s does NOT act with integrity, and will in fact use deception, lies, and bullying tactics to achieve its goals. But with this decision, the NLRB has told Trader Joe’s that their workers deserve to be treated with the integrity that was promised, and I’m very thankful to both the Board and Trader Joe’s United for making a stand for us.”

The NLRB also found merit to the unfair labor practice charges filed by Trader Joe’s United related to the company’s most recent retirement contribution. According to the complaint, after the employer and the union reached an agreement that workers in Hadley and Minneapolis, MN would receive the same retirement benefit as other employees nationwide, Trader Joe’s instead retaliated against workers at the two unionized stores by giving them a less favorable retirement benefit than non-union stores.

The Board also found that Trader Joe’s national bargaining updates, provided on its internal employee website, gave “false and misleading” information about negotiations between the employer and the union, including information regarding negotiations around the retirement benefit.

Workers in Hadley and Minneapolis are represented by Trader Joe’s United, the independent union of Trader Joe’s workers. At the time the last retirement benefit was negotiated, Hadley and Minneapolis were the only unionized Trader Joe’s locations. Since then, two more stores have unionized, in Louisville, KY and Oakland, CA.

In a previously released version of this complaint, the NLRB found merit in several other unfair labor practice charges filed by the union, including that Trader Joe’s maintained a discriminatory uniform policy, prohibited workers from wearing union pins, retaliated against employees for their union activities, interrogated and threatened workers, and forced employees to attend unlawful captive audience meetings.

The NLRB issues a complaint when the Board finds merit to an unfair labor practice charge. Since Trader Joe’s did not settle the charges in this complaint, the case will proceed to a hearing which is scheduled to begin January 16, 2024 in Hartford, CT.

Trader Joe’s United released the following statement regarding the NLRB’s findings on Steve’s termination and the 401k-related charges:

“We are thrilled to see this complaint from the NLRB. It validates what we’ve known all along: that Trader Joe’s is willing to act unlawfully and violate our rights as workers–even firing us–in an attempt to discourage organizing and protect their bottom line. Trader Joe’s might not be looking out for its workers, but we are looking out for each other, and we will continue to work for the pay, benefits, and safe working conditions Trader Joe’s workers need. We are looking forward to the NLRB hearing, which is the next step in holding Trader Joe’s accountable for their unlawful actions.”

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For more information, please contact Maeg Yosef at 413-207-7447.

Read the updated NLRB complaint here.

For more information about Trader Joe’s United, please visit our website.