By Associated Press’s HALELUYA HADERO and LISA BAUMANN
The first set of workers to achieve a labor victory at the grocery store chain owned by Amazon, Whole Foods Market in Pennsylvania, decided to form a union on Monday.
130 votes, or roughly 57% of the total, were voted by the Philadelphia store’s employees in favor of joining a local chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union in order to engage in collective bargaining. The proposal was rejected by 100 workers, according to the National Labor Relations Board, which supervised the election.
According to Wendell Young IV, president of UFCW Local 1776, “today’s victory is an important step forward, but this fight is far from over.” In order to negotiate a fair first contract that takes into account the needs and interests of the employees, we are prepared to bring Whole Foods to the negotiating table.
According to the findings, organized labor has successfully entered Amazon’s grocery division, which comprises Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, and the convenience stores known as Amazon Go. Amazon, which paid $13.7 billion to acquire Whole Foods in 2017, has made an effort to prevent delivery drivers and warehouse employees from organizing in its stores.
Workers at Amazon warehouses in the Staten Island borough of New York City elected nearly three years ago to have a new union, which has subsequently allied with the Teamsters, represent them in labor discussions. Amazon, meanwhile, has declined to engage in negotiations.
Early last year, workers at the Whole Foods shop in the heart of Philadelphia began organizing, according to Young. Late in the summer, they joined forces with UFCW Local 1776, and in November, they petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to hold an official election.
According to the local union, the store employees believed that a successful vote would enable them to obtain better working conditions, more work-life balance, child care assistance, more inexpensive health insurance, and higher earnings.
Following Monday night’s vote count, Whole Foods released a statement expressing its pride in providing all Team Members with competitive pay, excellent benefits, and chances for professional progression.
Although we are unhappy with the election’s result, the company stated that it is dedicated to preserving a productive workplace in its Philly Center City location.
According to the corporation, retail employees receive competitive average hourly pay in addition to other benefits including on-demand mental health support and 401(k) plans. Although it does not provide its average hourly wage, several internet job advertisements indicate that retail employees can make at least $16 per hour.
Young said the corporation refurbished their break rooms and provided free refreshments to employees at the Philadelphia location after the union filed the election petition.
The employer allegedly fired one employee in reprisal for union activity, while supervisors allegedly promised workers higher wages if they rejected the union proposal, according to UFCW Local 1776’s unfair labor practice accusations submitted with the NLRB earlier this month. Whole Foods denied that the employee’s termination was retaliatory.
Additionally, the union has accused Whole Foods of denying workers at the Philadelphia location regional wage increases due to union activity.
As part of a quarterly assessment, the business admits that, despite doing so at several other stores, it did not raise wages for employees at the store. Young questioned Whole Foods’ claim that wage changes made prior to the union election would have been unlawful.
In order to avoid giving the impression that it was attempting to sway the vote with pay increases, the corporation announced that it would postpone the pay increases until after the election.
Located in Seattle Amazon employees’ attempts to organize a union have been met with resistance.Before Christmas, a few American towns saw strikes by Amazon delivery drivers who wanted the corporation to either recognize them as unionized workers or agree to their demands for their first labor contract.
Next month, employees at a North Carolina Amazon warehouse will cast their votes on whether they wish to be represented by Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, a new union.
The National Labor Relations Board’s framework has been contested in court by the retail behemoth. By suing the employer to reinstate a fired organizer just before voting started, Amazon accused the federal agency of meddling in the 2022 union election at the Staten Island factory.