Amazon faces the push of union on two fronts in his flag business and now Whole Foods

Step

Following successful joining efforts by Amazon workers in a Staten Island warehouse and more widely in all Amazon third parties distribution operations, employees at a Whole Foods store owned by Amazon in Philadelphia have voted to join the Union united of food workers and traders. It is the first measure by the joining Whole Foods workers and more can be followed as public opinion has become extremely positive for trade unions, increasing from 48% approval in 2019 to 70% last year, according to Gallup.

Public opinion has become very pro-union since pandemia, according to Gallup Public … [+] Opinion surveys. . (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP) (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP through Getty Images)

AFP through Getty Images

The main facts

Whole Foods employees at the Philadelphia Whole Foods Store city center voted on Monday in favor of UFCW chapter 1776 and now the Union is ready to negotiate a “first fair contract reflecting the needs and advantages of workers.”

In an email statement to Bloomberg, a wholly Foods spokesman said he was disappointed in the election result, but promised to maintain a “positive work environment in our Philly Center store”.

UFCW represents 835,000 grocery stores in Kroger, Albertsons-Seway and Ahold Delhaize’s Stop & Shop and Giant chains, among other things.

BACKGROUND

In November, the Philadelphia Whole Foods employees presented on the National Board of Labor Relations to form a trade union to represent store cash, butchers, chefs, dishwashers and online fulfillment workers. Claiming the company had “threatened and frightened” pro-other employees and “spied” the activities of the union, workers filed charges at NLRB earlier this month. And three members of the Congress from Philadelphia followed with a letter to Amazon President Jeff Bezos and CEO of Whole Foods Jason Buechel, expressing concern over the reported efforts against the Union and encouraged them to see the Union’s vote be held without “intervention”. The company opposes such allegations. The Union’s preliminary vote came to 130 for and 100 against after 230 voted 300 store employees.

Amazon culture has rubbed on Whole Foods

According to the local PBS Whyy station, Whole Foods are demanding at least $ 17 pay per hour, more affordable health care benefits with lower minimum and improved pension benefits. They also complained about how the rhythm of the rage of Amazon’s work has rubbed on Whole Foods, taking a physical and emotional number for employees. Employees of all Foods felt an “additional plot layer” owned by company by billionaire Jeff Bezos, listed by stale as the second richest person after Elon Musk. Amazon bought the chain of then 460-Dyqan Whoo Foods in 2017 for $ 13.7 billion. Since then it has grown to about 500 stores.

Essential

“This victory sends a powerful message to workers wherever when we stay together, we can get even the biggest corporations and win. Whole Foods and its parent company, Amazon, have long resisted the efforts of the Union but These elections show that the determination and unity of workers can triumph, ”said UFCW international president Marc Perrone in a statement.

Amazon Workers’ Union efforts

For some time, Amazon’s workers have fought the retail giant for better salary, benefits and working conditions. Safety violations in the Amazon warehouses have been documented by the safety and health administration at work. In a first community action, about 5,000 workers in a warehouse of Amazon Staten Island organized the Amazon labor union, which has since been linked to the International Teamsters Brotherhood under ALU-IBT. So far, no other US warehouse has voted to join, though many third -party distribution leaders have joined Teamsters. However, next month, 5,000 other storage workers in Amazon in North Carolina have settled to vote to join under Carolina Amazonians United for solidarity and empowerment (cause).

The Teamsters Union that grows under the new leadership

Teamsters report that the union membership is receiving all over the country. After the new President General Sean O’Brien and Treasury Secretary Fred Zukerman took over the Teamter leadership in March 2022, the number of Teamsters Union members has increased by 70,000, much above 57,000 added members over the past decade .

Tangent

Although there is only one united warehouse in Amazon State, workers in an Amazon warehouse in Quebec organized last year. This was followed by a company decision to close the seven Quebec Amazon warehouses resulting in the loss of about 2,000 jobs. Amazon claimed that the decision was taken for business reasons and had nothing to do with the unification attempt. CBC reported that a spokesman for Amazon said the closure of the warehouses were in the name of greater efficiency and cost effectiveness. “We have used third -party carriers in Quebec for many years. Returning to a well -tested third party model will allow us to provide the same excellent service and even more savings for our customers for a term long. “

Further developments

Earlier today, President Trump dismissed a member of the National Board of Labor Relations and his Advisor General, leaving only two members of the sedentary board under Bloomberg law. Until the new members are appointed, NLRB cannot make decisions because the Supreme Court ruled that a quorum of three members is required to issue decisions. “While there are significant issues with the firing of NLRB members, to a minimum this will allocate the works for many months to be resolved,” Common Labor and Employment Partner Jacobs with Tarter, Krinsky & Drug.