Alec Plant

Working People

Two years ago, workers from several different Trader Joe’s grocery stores joined the wave of unionization efforts spreading across the country. Workers in Hadley, Massachusetts, made history in 2022 by not only becoming the first Trader Joe’s store to vote to unionize but also by opting to form an independent union, Trader Joe’s United (TJU). However, like with Starbucks, Amazon, Medieval Times, and other companies where workers have been exercising their right to organize in recent years, rampant union busting has been part of the Trader Joe’s story from the beginning. What’s worse, as Alex Press writes in Jacobin, rather than be compelled to follow the law and play by the rules, the supposedly progressive grocery chain has joined Elon Musk’s SpaceX in attacking the very constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board. What is the current state of the union drive at Trader Joe’s? What issues are employees (“crew members”) still dealing with on the job, and what can supporters do to help? In this episode, Max speaks with Alec Plant, a worker organizer at the Lincoln and Grace Trader Joe’s in Chicago and a member of Trader Joe’s United.

Additional links/info below…

• Trader Joe’s United website, Twitter/X page, and Instagram

• Lauren Kaori Gurley, The Washington Post, “As Chicago Trader Joe’s votes on unionizing, grocer fights other efforts”

• Alex Press, Jacobin, “Trader Joe’s rejects the New Deal”

• Dave Jameison, HuffPost, “Trader Joe’s threatened workers ahead of union vote, feds allege”

• Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, “Workers at North Center Trader Joe’s are first in Chicago to file for union election”

• Steven Greenhouse, The New Republic, “How corporations crush new unions”

• Steven Greenhouse, The Guardian, “Major US corporations threaten to return labor to ‘law of the jungle’”

• Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, "Want to unionize your workplace? These worker-organizers have some advice”

Permanent links below…

• Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!

• Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page

• In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page

• The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page

Featured Music… Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song

Studio Production: Max Alvarez Post-Production: Jules Taylor