Trader Joe’s Employees Petition to Form Union at Brooklyn Location
Trader Joe’s employees have petitioned to unionize a New York City supermarket, extending a recent wave of organizing at the company and within the broader U.S. retail industry.
Employees at a Brooklyn store filed Friday for a unionization election, according to the docket of the National Labor Relations Board. Workers are seeking to join Trader Joe’s United, the same fledgling, independent group that prevailed in elections this summer in Massachusetts and Minneapolis, creating the first union foothold among the company’s over 500 stores. The Brooklyn site employs around 185 workers, according to the docket.
The company, owned by Germany’s Albrecht family, has said following the prior votes that it is concerned about the impacts of unionization and already offers industry-leading compensation, but is ready to immediately begin contract talks. The union said last month that it had been contacted by workers in every state where Trader Joe’s has stores.
