Workers’ rights violated by Trader Joe ahead of union election: Feds

Trader Joe’s may have broken the law in its attempts to discourage workers from unionizing at a Minnesota store last year.

Management at the supermarket chain illegally removed union flyers from the break room and barred workers from posting flyers on how to organize ahead of a union vote, according to a new complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board.

A regional director of the labor board wrote in the filing that, by doing so, Trader Joe’s was “interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of the rights” of the organization.

The complaint was based on a charge filed by the Trader Joe’s United union, which won the Minneapolis election held last August, 55-5. The complaint filed last week means labor board officials investigated the union’s allegations and found merit in them.

Trader Joe’s United is a new, independent union that has organized four stores since last year, part of a wave of union activity that has hit Amazon, Starbucks, Apple and other big-name retailers since 2021. None of the more than 500 locations Trader Joe’s formerly had union representation.

The California-based grocer has said it welcomes a vote at any store where enough employees express interest, but workers have told HuffPost the company has rejected the organizing effort, even in ways the union alleges were illegal.

Trader Joe’s United said in a statement that it was “delighted to make progress on this and the countless other unfair labor practice charges we have filed against our employer.”

“This is just the beginning of holding Trader Joe’s accountable for the many instances in which they have violated our rights as workers,” the group said.

The union filed separate charges accusing the company of forcing Massachusetts workers to remove their union badges under threat of disciplinary action, as well as monitoring workers and making threats.

“They told me I couldn’t wear that on my hat,” an employee who has worked for Trader Joe’s for nearly a decade told HuffPost last year. “Initially, I complied, so as not to cause more trouble.”

There are limits on when and where workers can distribute union flyers to their co-workers, but in the Minneapolis case, the regional manager says Trader Joe’s placed an “overly broad ban” against it. According to the complaint, the store manager posted a warning on the bulletin board after workers posted union fliers in the break room.

“Break room space is reserved for company business, not to be used for any other purpose,” it read.

A Trader Joe’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

So far, the union has prevailed in separate elections in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Kentucky and California, and has lost two in New York City, including one by a single vote. The workers say managers have been encouraging them to vote against the union in the run-up to the election.

Trader Joe’s disputed the union’s victory in Kentucky, alleging that a union organizer and attorney intimidated employees and pressured them into voting “yes.” But a labor board hearing examiner recently heard from both sides in the case and found no merit in the company’s claims. A final determination has not yet been made.

Other companies have also spoken out against the new unions of their workers. Amazon spent more than $14 million last year on anti-union consultants who held meetings with workers at various warehouses to discourage them from organizing. Meanwhile, Starbucks is facing dozens of complaints to the labor board over alleged illegal firings, store closings and retaliation against union supporters.