HADLEY — Employees looking to organize a union at Trader Joe’s in Hadley have been filing daily unfair labor practice charges against their employer after management demanded they remove union buttons or go home, according to a union organizer. As of Wednesday, the employees were able to wear their buttons, however.
The union, Trader Joe’s United, also filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday as an independent union.
“We’re excited to get an election date,” said Maeg Yosef, a longtime employee at the store and union organizer.
A spokesperson for Trader Joe’s, which is headquartered in Monrovia, California, released the following statement in response to inquiries submitted prior to the union filing for its election.
“We believe Trader Joe’s is a great place to work and our compensation, benefits and working conditions are among the best in the grocery business,” the statement reads. “We welcome a fair vote and are prepared to hold a vote if more than 30% of the Crew wants one. A Crew Member in our Hadley store stated to the press weeks ago that 65% of the Crew agrees with their efforts. We are ready to hold a vote when they are.”
Yosef said the grocery store employees made union buttons a week and a half ago and that almost immediately, they were told to remove the buttons or go home. Yosef said store employees have been complying with management’s demands, but have also been informing management that wearing union buttons is a protected right under federal law.
“They’ve just said those are their orders,” Yosef said.
Trader Joe’s did not answer questions about the button-wearing issue when asked by a reporter in recent days.
Yosef said that every day the union finds out how many times employees were asked to take off their buttons. They then use each instance as the basis for an unfair labor practice charge.
As of Wednesday, Yosef said that store employees have been able to successfully wear their buttons on their shifts, and she gave some credit for this to the NLRB for rapidly docketing their complaints.
“We were able to put the pressure on,” Yosef said.
Under the National Labor Relations Act, employees have the right to display union insignia, including on buttons, on the job except under “special circumstances.”
“We hope the union-busting activities of the last few weeks are behind us,” said crew member and organizer Adelaide Petrin, in a statement to the news media. “We hope to operate ‘without obstruction’ from here on out, and we hope Trader Joe’s is true to their word and does not delay the process further.”
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.