The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) wants answers after a Trader Joe’s in New York City’s Union Square closed a wine shop allegedly because of unionization efforts by employees.
The complaint was filed by the NLRB after employees at the store filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge and outlines several incidents that happened in July and August 2022 that eventually led to the location going dark on Aug. 11, 2022.
According to the complaint, after employees were interrogated about union activities, they were told they could lose their benefits if a union was formed, and that management would not bargain with a union.
The NLRB wants the store to be reopened with the original staff, who will then be allowed to form a union.
Trader Joe’s also has until Jan. 26 to answer questions about why certain actions were taken and why the decision was made to close.
A hearing is scheduled for May 7.
“With the NLRB’s complaint and notice of hearing, former Trader Joe’s wine shop crew members in New York are one step closer to getting the justice they deserve,” the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union said in a statement. The UFCW represents 1.2 million workers in grocery, meatpacking, retail, and other industries across North America. “Let’s make one thing clear: Trader Joe’s shamelessly and illegally engaged in union busting to scare Trader Joe’s workers across the region and stop these workers from having a voice on the job.”
Trader Joe’s has not responded to a request for comment in time for publication.
Trader Joe’s has not had the best relationship with unions over the last few months. Just last week on Jan. 16 the NLRB heard complaints that a store in Hadley, Mass., retaliated against employees due to the forming of a union.
Union spokesperson Maeg Yosef wants the board to reinstate an employee who, according to the union, was improperly fired, and to revamp a retirement plan that is viewed as less generous for union workers than non-union workers.
A day after the Hadley complaint, on Jan. 17 a federal court in Los Angeles said that a logo used by a Trader Joe’s union does not resemble that of the logo used by the retailer. U.S. District Judge Hernan Vera dismissed the lawsuit filed by Trader Joe’s against the union, Trader Joe’s United, which was using its logo on tote bags, buttons, mugs, and other products.
In May, a complaint filed with the NLRB stated that management at a store in Minneapolis illegally pulled union literature from the break room and did not allow workers to post fliers about organizing a union in November 2022.
