Trader Joe’s Workers in Oakland, CA File for Union Election
First CA Trader Joe’s to file petition to join Trader Joe’s United
Employees at a Trader Joe’s in Oakland, California have filed for a union election. If they win, they will be the first unionized store in California, where the company is based.
Today’s filing with the National Labor Relations Board seeks an election involving 148 employees to join Trader Joe’s United, the independent union of Trader Joe’s workers. If the workers vote to unionize, they would be the fourth Trader Joe’s in the country to do so.
The Oakland store’s union drive announcement occurred on the same day workers at a New York City Trader Joe’s declared their intent to unionize with Trader Joe’s United. Crew members at both stores unveiled their campaigns with a March on the Boss at each location.
These bicoastal and simultaneous announcements are a historic first for the new union, which formed last year in July 2022 after the Hadley, Massachusetts store became the first Trader Joe’s in the country to unionize. The Hadley win was quickly followed by a landslide victory at the company’s Minneapolis, Minnesota location where the union prevailed 55-5 two weeks later.
In January 2023, crew at the Louisville, Kentucky store voted 48-36 to join Trader Joe’s United. Trader Joe’s filed objections to the election results with the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB convened a hearing on these objections earlier this week.
While Trader Joe’s has a long standing reputation as a progressive company, the company has rolled out well-documented anti-union tactics at all locations that have filed for an election. Trader Joe’s has yet to respond to the Oakland announcement.
“I love what I do, I love getting to create the energy and vibe that so many customers have come to enjoy when they enter Trader Joes; but it is becoming harder and harder to work while not feeling confident that the people I’m working for will put my safety and well-being above profit. I am looking forward to creating a workplace where my co-workers and I feel like our concerns are being taken seriously,” said Nava Rosenthal, a crew member who has worked at the Oakland, CA store for over 4 years.
“As a full-time graduate student paying for tuition and rent in the notoriously expensive Bay Area, wage transparency is extremely important to me. Within my past few years at TJs, I have experienced conflicting messages from Management about my expected hourly rate upon transferring stores; the upsetting realization I was making a quarter more than a new-hire after working for the company for six years; and a general lack of transparency around wage adjustments. I - and the rest of the crew - deserve the clear communication and respect necessary to financially plan for our lives,” said Kaitlyn Custer. They have worked for Trader Joe’s for 6 years.
“Organizing with other crew members has not only been the most fun I’ve had at my workplace in years, it has also been the most meaningful and connective. This is about respect and integrity, which is supposedly the #1 ‘Core Value’ of Trader Joe’s. There is no respect when Trader Joe’s Corporate denies us a raise and cuts our retirement benefits in the middle of a deadly pandemic. There is no integrity in opaque reviews and unfair disciplinary processes. By unionizing, we can bring Trader Joe’s back in line with its value of integrity,” said Dominique Bernardo, a crew member of 18 years.
