The National Labor Relations Board on Friday alleged in an unfair labor practices complaint against Trader Joe’s, that the retailer retaliated against workers attempting to organize a union, reports Winsight Grocery Business. The NLRB also said the grocer threatened workers with frozen wages and more.
The complaint focuses on the Trader Joe’s in Hadley, Massachusetts, which became the grocer’s first union location in July 2022. Allegations in the complaint include employees being sent home or receiving written warnings after wearing pins with union insignia while working. Employees were also compelled to attend “captive-audience meetings” to understand Trader Joe’s position on union activity and may have been told their “working conditions would worsen” if they joined the union.
“It’s incredibly vindicating to receive this NLRB complaint,” Trader Joe’s United communications director and longtime Hadley employee Maeg Yosef said in a statement to WGB. “It confirms what we’ve known from the beginning: that our employer, Trader Joe’s, has grossly violated our rights as workers and must be held accountable.”
Trader Joe’s is to file a response to the NLRB complaint by July 21. On October 17, a hearing will take place in Hartford, Connecticut. Full Story
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