Trader Joe’s Workers from Essex Crossing Store to Hold Rally Before Union Election
Workers from the Essex Crossing Trader Joe’s store in New York City will hold a rally ahead of their union vote on Tuesday April 18, 2023 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. On April 19 and 20 employees at that location will be voting on whether to join Trader Joe’s United, the independent union of Trader Joe’s workers founded last year. The final vote count will take place after voting concludes on April 20 at 6 p.m. EDT.
Community members are encouraged to attend the rally and can RSVP here: bit.ly/traderjoesrally
Workers at the Essex Crossing stor filed their petition for a union election on March 22, 2023, the same day that employees at the Rockridge Trader Joe’s in Oakland, CA announced their intent to unionize with Trader Joe’s United. The Rockridge union election will also take place April 19 and 20.
Employees at the Essex location cited issues such as pay, health and retirement benefits, and safety issues such as leaking sewage as factors that led them to organize.
“It should not be a radical idea for workers to have a voice in the workplace. Crew members should be able to have more agency at Trader Joe’s,” said Jordan Pollack, a crew member at the Essex store.
If successful, the Essex Crossing location would be the fourth to vote to unionize with Trader Joe’s United.
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.
