Whole Foods employees at a Philadelphia store voted to form a union Monday night, marking the first successful organizing campaign at the Amazon-owned upscale grocery.
TakeAway Points:
- Philadelphia Whole Foods employees decided to become members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union.
- Since Amazon purchased Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017, this vote represents the company’s first successful organising attempt.
- In recent years, Amazon delivery and warehouse employees have been trying to organise their workplaces more and more.
Vote for union
Store workers cast 130 votes in favour and 100 votes against joining the United Food and Commercial Workers union, a spokesperson for the UFCW said. The store, which is located in Philadelphia’s Spring Garden neighbourhood, employs roughly 300 workers.
The vote is the latest instance of Amazon workers putting pressure on the company to deliver higher wages and safety improvements. Amazon has faced an upswing in organizing among its warehouse and delivery workforce in recent years. The company has argued its employees don’t need unions, which stand to disrupt the control it has over its workforce.
Staffers are hoping that a union will help them negotiate for higher wages, improvements to their schedules and “a fair workload that doesn’t leave us burnt out,” according to a UFCW webpage detailing the campaign. Employees at the store filed a union election with the National Labour Relations Board in November.
UFCW and some of the store’s employees in November said that management at Whole Foods engaged in an “aggressive anti-union campaign” after they filed for a union vote. UFCW filed a number of unfair labour practices with the NLRB over Whole Foods’ conduct during the union drive.
“This fight is far from over, but today’s victory is an important step forward,” Wendell Young, president of UFCW Local 1776, the chapter representing the workers, said in a statement. “We are ready to bring Whole Foods to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair first contract that reflects the workers’ needs and priorities.”
According to Whole Foods in a statement, it was “disappointed” by the outcome of the election, adding that it offers “competitive compensation, great benefits and career advancement opportunities” for employees.
“We are committed to maintaining a positive working environment in our Philly Center City store,” the company said.
Whole Foods and Amazon
Whole Foods has largely operated as an autonomous subsidiary of Amazon since it was acquired for $13.7 billion in 2017. But more recently, Amazon has sought to bring Whole Foods closer. The company on Monday tapped Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel for an expanded role leading its worldwide grocery business, which includes its Fresh supermarket chain, online grocery service and Go convenience stores.
The Monday vote in Philadelphia marks the first successful union campaign at a Whole Foods since it was acquired in 2017.
Employees at a Whole Foods store in Madison, Wisconsin, voted to join the UFCW in 2002, but employees at that store dissolved the union in 2003.
The labor victory comes as Amazon has faced a groundswell of union activity among its warehouse and delivery workforce in recent years. Employees have sought to unionize to obtain higher wages and improvements to working conditions.
Amazon has disputed criticisms from its employees, lawmakers and advocacy groups that its breakneck pace of work has led to high injury rates among its frontline workers. It’s also pushed back on complaints that it has engaged in union-busting activity. Amazon last year joined SpaceX and Trader Joe’s in arguing that the NLRB is unconstitutional. The NLRB has accused Amazon of violating federal labor laws in several cases.
The company employees at a Staten Island, New York, site in 2022 formed the company’s first union at a U.S. warehouse, though they have struggled to negotiate a contract. The group voted to affiliate with the Teamsters last June.
Workers at an Amazon warehouse in North Carolina are slated to hold a union election next month.
