Trader Joe’s Oakland Union Certified by NLRB

On Friday, April 28, 2023 the newly formed union of Trader Joe’s workers in Oakland, CA was officially certified by the National Labor Relations Board. On April 20, 2023, workers at the location voted 73-53 to join Trader Joe’s United, the independent union of Trader Joe’s employees, making them the fourth location in the country to do so.

In July 2022, the Trader Joe’s in Hadley, MA became the first store in the chain’s history to unionize, with the company’s Minneapolis location joining TJU just two weeks later. In January 2023 the Louisville, KY store also voted to join the new union. However, Trader Joe’s filed objections to that election with the NLRB; a final ruling on those objections is pending.

Now that the union is certified, Trader Joe’s is obligated to negotiate in good faith with workers for a union contract. Oakland employees will join crew members from Hadley, Minneapolis, and Louisville at the bargaining table. Trader Joe’s United and Trader Joe’s have been negotiating since November 2022.

“We are thrilled to be certified and can’t wait to sit at the bargaining table and work toward a contract that will improve our pay, benefits, and working conditions,” said Dominique Bernardo, a longtime crew member and organizer at the Oakland store. “It’s time to bring Trader Joe’s back in line with its stated number one value, integrity.”