Workers at Massachusetts Trader Joe’s store take union vote

HADLEY, Mass. (AP) — Employees at a Trader Joe’s in Massachusetts are casting votes over the next two days in an attempt to form the supermarket chain’s first union.

About 80 workers — or crew members in company parlance — at the Hadley store are scheduled to vote Wednesday and Thursday, said Maeg Yosef, a union organizer who has worked at Trader Joe’s for 18 years.

The workers are organizing under the name Trader Joe’s United, which if successful, would be an independent union, and not affiliated with a larger existing union.

The Trader Joe’s workers are part of a nationwide wave of employees at major companies who have or are attempting to unionize in an effort to get a bigger say in their work conditions and compensation.

Workers at multiple Starbucks coffee shop locations across the country, as well as employees at Amazon, Apple and REI are among those who have joined unions in the past year.

Trader Joe’s management has engaged in what Yosef called “classic union-busting” tactics, including hiring a law firm specializing in fighting unionization to try and talk employees out of approving a union.

California-based Trader Joe’s, which has about 550 stores nationwide, also just announced an enhanced benefits package that includes more paid time off and better pay for some employees, which she said was an effort to head off unionization.

Trader Joe’s already has generous pay and benefits by industry standards, a company spokesperson said.

“Trader Joe’s is a great place to work and our compensation, benefits, flexibility, and working conditions are among the best when compared to any retailer,” Nakia Rohde said in an email. “We welcome a fair vote by our crew members.”