Trader Joe’s workers at a store in Brooklyn, New York, have voted not to unionize, dealing a setback to Trader Joe’s United, the fledgling union formed to organize employees of the grocery chain. The vote was 94-66, with no challenged ballots, according to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The decision by workers at the store to reject efforts to unionize them follows votes in favor of joining the labor group by Trader Joe’s associates at locations in Minneapolis and Hadley, Massachusetts, earlier this year. The Minneapolis workers voted resoundingly to become part of Trader Joe’s United in August, while employees at the Massachusetts location in July became the first of the chain’s workers to elect to join the labor group.
The vote at the New York store, in the city’s Williamsburg section, came a month after workers there filed plans with the NLRB to hold the election, which took place Wednesday and Thursday. The votes will be certified unless either side files an objection within five business days, a NLRB spokesperson said in an email.
Trader Joe’s United vowed to move ahead with its efforts to unionize Trader Joe’s workers despite the outcome of the election at the store.
“Workers in Williamsburg fought bravely toward a union election today; unfortunately the no votes carried the day. The struggle to organize Trader Joe’s continues,” the union said in a tweet Thursday evening.
Trader Joe’s employees have complained that the California-based grocer has subjected them to unfair performance reviews, reduced retirement benefits, provided too little time off and risked their safety. In May, workers who helped launch Trader Joe’s United made public a letter to the company’s CEO in which they said the company has sought to discourage them from unionizing.