Workers at Trader Joe’s Organize in Boulder, CO
The workers of a third Trader Joe’s location have joined the labor movement. In Boulder, CO the workforce at the national chain of grocery stores filed with the NLRB to call for a union vote, electing to affiliate with UFCW Local 7. UFCW Local 7 “represents 23,000 members in Colorado and Wyoming in Supermarkets, Packing Houses, Food Processing Plants, Barbers and Cosmetologists, and Healthcare facilities.”
The movement to organize comes during a wave of labor action at the ground level of corporations around the country, including giants like Amazon and Apple as well as smaller local stores like City Feed & Supply. The Boulder location will follow in the footsteps of Trader Joe’s United movements in locations at Minneapolis, MN and Hadley, MA, which just won its union vote at the end of July.
UFCW Local 7 announced the NLRB petition in a press release. A petition of signatures in excess of 30% of the workforce is needed to trigger the union vote. Following a successful petition, a date will be set for the union vote.
Dan Bane, CEO of Trader Joe’s, has vowed to not interfere with the union process, although that support did not extend so far as to pre-emptively recognize the union members as the collective bargaining unit. No date has been set for the union vote by the time this article went to post.
Tommy Wood, reporting for BizWest, spoke with UFCW Local 7 president Kim Cordova about the push to unionize at the Boulder location:
“They’ve been wanting to do it for a while,” Kim Cordova, UFCW Local 7 president, told BizWest. “There’s interest from workers all over this country to join a union. They’re looking for any path they can find to fight for better wages, better working conditions.”
Benefits and pay equity are high on the list of concerns, along with basic respect.
“Cordova said some of the issues raised by employees at the Boulder Trader Joe’s include a reduction in the company’s 401(k) match and pay disparity between new hires and longtime employees.
“Employees want a seat at the table,” Cordova said. “They want a share of their employers’ incredible success. It’s about respect at work.”
Stay tuned as this story develops…
The workers at a Williamsburg, Brooklyn location of Trader Joe’s file a petition to unionize.