UNIONIZATION TOP 2022 TREND: TRADER JOE’S VOTE TO UNIONIZE

A Trader Joe’s in Massachusetts became the company’s first store to unionize after workers at the location voted 45 to 31 in favor of the representation—continuing our forecast that unionization will be a Top Trend in 2022.

The union, which is called Trader Joe’s United, said in a statement posted online that the majority of the crew at the Hadley location “enthusiastically supported” the push from the start. The union also blamed the grocer, which is perceived by the public as politically progressive, that the company did its best to “bust us.”

The vote came in at 45-31. 

TRENDPOST: The Trends Journal has reported extensively on the growth of unions across the U.S. after the COVID-19 lockdowns.

There have been several factors why workers across the U.S. have turned to unions. These factors included the surge in profits that CEOs and owners saw during the outbreak that critics say they refused to share. These employees also see no chance of career growth and have complained about safety issues during the outbreak.

The hypocrisy is notable when companies that position themselves to be progressive in the public have no qualms with cracking down the hardest against union formations. Workers at Starbucks, REI, Apple, Amazon have accused them of trying to bust these unionization efforts through intimidation. (See “TOP 2022 UNIONIZATION TREND UPDATE,” “TOP 2022 TREND, ‘UNIONIZATION,’ ON THE RISE” and “TOP TREND UNIONIZATION, HEATING UP: TOP GERMAN UNION PUSHING FOR HIGHER WAGES.”)

Bob Bussel, the emeritus director of the University of Oregon’s Labor Education & Research Center, told Atlanta Civic Circle that COVID-19 showed workers the decisive role that unions play when employees need to advocate for themselves. He said workers saw that unions provide them a tool to try to “improve your conditions, whereas a non-union worker just doesn’t have that.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said about 10.3 percent of American workers are members of a union. But the trend is picking up pace.

The National Labor Relations Board said last month that from 1 October to 30 June, unionization attempts in the U.S. have increased by 58 percent compared to 2021.

Trader Joe’s Next Steps

Kayla Blado, National Labor Relations Board director and press secretary for the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, told ABC News, “If no objections are filed, the results will be certified and the employer must begin bargaining in good faith with the union.”

A representative from the grocer told The Boston Globe that the store was ready to “immediately begin discussions with union representatives for the employees at the store to negotiate a contract.”

“We are willing to use any current union contract for a multi-state grocery company with stores in the area, selected by the union representatives, as a template to negotiate a new structure for the employees in this store; including pay, retirement, healthcare, and working conditions such as scheduling and job flexibility,” the store said.

On the surface, the statement seems like the company is keen on working with these employees, but The New York Times said the statement implies that Trader Joe’s already offers its employees better benefits than other union workers nearby.

Trader Joe’s faces another union vote next month at a store location in Minneapolis, the Times reported. 

The organizers at the Massachusetts location kicked off the campaign in May. They wrote an open letter to Dan Bane, the company’s CEO, that they were concerned about their safety during the COVID-19 outbreak, benefits, and pay.

Maeg Yosef, the organizer who worked at the company for 18 years, accused Trader Joe’s of engaging in “classic union-busting” tactics, according to WCVB. She said the company hired a law firm that specialized in union busting and explicitly told employees to vote against unionizing.  

TREND FORECAST: Unionization will continue to be a Top Trend and, as inflation continues to rise faster than wages, corporations that wish to incentivize their workforce to do and give the best they can, will raise the pay scale to levels higher than inflation rates.