Trader Joe’s sued employee union, Trader Joe's United, Thursday, alleging its sales of merchandise violates trademark rights, reports Reuters. Trader Joe’s United sells items including tote bags, buttons, and mugs that feature the store’s name and logo.
In the lawsuit, Trader Joe’s noted that, in addition to violating its trademark, it confuses customers into thinking that Trader Joe’s made the products or endorses the union.
In retort, Seth Goldstein, a lawyer for the union, claimed the lawsuit was a component of a “union-busting campaign” to defund Trader Joe’s United, thus violating the National Labor Relations Act.
Trader Joe’s shared that it did not seek to block sales of the union’s merchandise but rather to urge the union to stop misusing its trademarks. The retailer claimed to have first contacted Trader Joe's United in June to take down its products featuring “Trader Joe’s United” in the grocer’s font.
This lawsuit comes roughly one week after the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against a Trader Joe’s in Hadley, Massachusetts. Full Story
Related: NLRB Files Complaint Against Trader Joe's; Lunds & Byerlys Workers Ratify Contract
Image: Trader Joe's United