The Friday Checkout is a weekly column providing more insight on the news, rounding up the announcements you may have missed and sharing what’s to come.
The vote on Monday by employees at a Whole Foods Market store in Philadelphia to unionize is a watershed moment in the history of the specialty grocery chain. With the political winds in Washington, D.C., now blowing in an entirely different direction than they were when the employees began their drive to formally organize, however, the potential for the election to have a meaningful impact on working conditions at the retailer is shrouded in doubt.
Whole Foods workers already faced a daunting challenge in attempting to push back on the company’s practices because of its ownership by Amazon, which has a history of making life tough for workers who want to unionize. But while unions could count on strong backing from the National Labor Relations Board under former President Joe Biden, the NLRB appears poised to become less supportive of organized labor under the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump quickly cleaned house at the NLRB, firing its general counsel and removing one of its Democratic members within days of his inauguration, leaving the five-seat board with only two members for now. In an ominous sign for workers looking to unionize, Jennifer Abruzzo, whose dismissal had been expected, suggested that she does not believe the agency will remain as friendly to labor unions as it was under Biden.
“I expect that workers with assistance from their advocates will take matters into their own hands in order to get well-deserved dignity and respect in the workplace” if the NLRB changes course, Abruzzo said in a statement on her last day.
The Whole Foods workers who voted to unionize this week took a bold first step. The question now is whether they can continue their momentum in a dramatically different environment.
In case you missed it
Giant Eagle earns Fair Trade Certification for private label shrimp
On Wednesday, Giant Eagle said in an emailed press release it is the first U.S. retailer to obtain Fair Trade Certification for an entire private label seafood line. The grocer earned the certification for its Nature’s Basket shrimp, noting that it relaunched that brand in 2023 with a focus on sustainability.
Lawmakers blast Trump on egg prices
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Jim McGovern along with 19 members of Congress urged President Donald Trump in a Jan. 26 letter to lower the prices of eggs and other grocery items. They laid out six recommendations for executive actions Trump could issue to lower prices, including working with the USDA to increase the number of government contract recipients that are “very small businesses” and encouraging the Department of Justice to prosecute price-fixing and other anticompetitive behavior in the agricultural and food sectors.
“We urge you to make good on your campaign promise to lower food prices for American families,” the lawmakers said.
Meijer expands advertising tools
The retailer announced Thursday it added Pinterest and Online Video and Connected TV to its retail media network. Meijer said these new offerings will help brands connect with shoppers “in more personalized, creative, and impactful ways, meeting them at key moments of inspiration and discovery.”
Meijer Media's OLV and CTV strategies will focus on video content that captures users’ attention and drives brand awareness, the announcement noted.
Impulse find
Suds on tap
Whole Foods Market stores in the San Francisco Bay Area recently added soap refill stations inside their stores, letting customers bring in bottles they can fill with Dr. Bonner’s pure castile soaps, the producer of personal care products posted on LinkedIn.
Like beer on tap but for soap, customers have four varieties to choose from: peppermint, unscented, citrus and lavender. A digital screen shows the ounces and prices in real-time as a customer fills the bottle. Once finished, they slap on a printed barcode and can head to checkout.
The post says the refills are “10% cheaper per ounce” and help cut plastic use when customers bring reusable bottles.
Wonderfil made the refill stations for the Whole Foods pilot, according to the post.
While the grocer is testing this in California — a famously environmentally focused state — it remains to be seen if the soap refill stations can lather up sales in other areas.
