Trader Joe’s Hadley, Massachusetts, store became its first to unionize after workers voted 45 to 31 to form an independent union, Trader Joe’s United.
“This victory is historic, but not a surprise,” the union said in a statement after the votes were counted. “Since the moment we announced our campaign, a majority of the crew has enthusiastically supported our union, and despite the company’s best efforts to bust us, our majority has never wavered.”
The company responded to the vote by saying that it would recognize the union and begin bargaining. It said it was “willing to use any current union contract for a multistate grocery company with stores in the area,” a suggestion the workers rejected.
”We’re going to be negotiating a different contract, specifically for us, that the crew wants to see. We won’t be taking any boilerplate template contracts,” Maeg Yosef, the union spokeswoman and an 18-year Trader Joe’s worker, told the Daily Hampshire Gazette. She noted that the union won’t be alone in negotiations, saying, it was getting “donated legal support, so we won’t be going it alone, and the legal team is going to grow at this point, so we’re feeling good on that front.”
● Workers at a St. Louis Boeing plant are poised to strike Monday, with disappearing 401(k) contributions high on their list of grievances, Jonah Furman reports at Labor Notes.
● The Starbucks union got its first win in Indiana as its momentum continues. But the company keeps firing union supporters as part of its broader union-busting campaign.
● Workers are reportedly dealing with sweltering heat in UPS vehicles:
● Excerpt from the Labor Notes book Secrets of a Successful Organizer: Every boss has a weak spot. Find and use it.
● In 40 years of labor reporting, David Moberg never gave up on the working class, Stephen Franklin writes following Moberg’s death.
● Jobs in the residential long-term care industry are terrible and in need of fixes.
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“This victory is historic, but not a surprise,” the union said in a statement after the votes were counted. “Since the moment we announced our campaign, a majority of the crew has enthusiastically supported our union, and despite the company’s best efforts to bust us, our majority has never wavered.”
The company responded to the vote by saying that it would recognize the union and begin bargaining. It said it was “willing to use any current union contract for a multistate grocery company with stores in the area,” a suggestion the workers rejected.
”We’re going to be negotiating a different contract, specifically for us, that the crew wants to see. We won’t be taking any boilerplate template contracts,” Maeg Yosef, the union spokeswoman and an 18-year Trader Joe’s worker, told the Daily Hampshire Gazette. She noted that the union won’t be alone in negotiations, saying, it was getting “donated legal support, so we won’t be going it alone, and the legal team is going to grow at this point, so we’re feeling good on that front.”
● Workers at a St. Louis Boeing plant are poised to strike Monday, with disappearing 401(k) contributions high on their list of grievances, Jonah Furman reports at Labor Notes.
● The Starbucks union got its first win in Indiana as its momentum continues. But the company keeps firing union supporters as part of its broader union-busting campaign.
● Workers are reportedly dealing with sweltering heat in UPS vehicles:
● Excerpt from the Labor Notes book Secrets of a Successful Organizer: Every boss has a weak spot. Find and use it.
● In 40 years of labor reporting, David Moberg never gave up on the working class, Stephen Franklin writes following Moberg’s death.
● Jobs in the residential long-term care industry are terrible and in need of fixes.
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