Trader Joe’s United to Commence Contract Negotiations with Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s United, an independent union of Trader Joe’s workers, will begin contract negotiations with Trader Joe’s this week, on November 3rd and 4th.

Trader Joe’s United is a newly established union. Employees at the Hadley, MA store voted 45-31 to join the union on July 28th of this year, and two weeks later employees at the Minneapolis Trader Joe’s voted overwhelmingly to join TJU in a 55-5 vote.

This will be the union’s first bargaining session and is set to take place at Smith College in Northampton, MA. The union has insisted on joint bargaining, and bargaining committee members from both stores will be participating together in negotiations, along with legal counsel for both parties. Trader Joe’s will be represented by Morgan Lewis & Bockius. Working People’s Law and Seth Goldstein will be serving as the union’s legal counsel.

“We are ready and excited to sit down at the bargaining table with Trader Joe’s,” said Sarah Beth Ryther, a bargaining committee member who works at the Minneapolis store. “Together with our union siblings in Hadley, we will be working for a contract that both meets the needs of the crew and supports the values, such as integrity, that the company claims to espouse. This is a huge moment for crew members across the country.”