This Bay Area Trader Joe’s Could Be the First in California to Unionize
Written by Sarah HoltzPublished Mar. 22, 2023 • 5:00pm
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A Trader Joe's in San Ramon, California, in pictured. Workers at an Oakland location of the grocery store chain have filed to unionize. | Smith Collection/Gado/Getty
Workers at Trader Joe’s in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood filed to form a union on Wednesday. If the workers succeed in joining Trader Joe’s United, this location will be the first unionized Trader Joe’s in California.
Just after the announcement, Twitter user @renepakmorrison posted a video showing a group of Trader Joe’s crew members delivering a letter to the store manager.
BREAKING: Trader Joe's workers in Oakland officially file to form a union. They would be the first TJ's location to unionize in CA. Earlier today a location in Essex Crossing location NYC also filed to join @TraderJoesUnite pic.twitter.com/nMxKOz9Kcp
— rene (@renepakmorrison) March 22, 2023
This news comes hours after workers at Trader Joe’s on New York City’s Lower East Side filed a letter with their intent to form a union as well.
The grocery store’s leadership has recently come under fire for alleged union-busting activity after it closed a wine shop in New York City the same week that worker-organizers had planned to go public with their plans to unionize, though the corporation maintains it didn’t close the wine shop for that reason.
Still, three other Trader Joe’s stores—in Massachusetts, Minnesota and Kentucky—won their union fights over the past year.
"Trader Joe’s crew members get to decide if they want to be a part of this UFCW-backed effort," Nakia Rohde, a spokesperson for Trader Joe's, wrote in an email.
Sarah Holtz can be reached at [email protected]
