Trader Joe’s Manager Said Unionizing Workers Were A 'Gang,' NLRB Alleges
HuffPost
It's the latest charge of union-busting activity by the grocery chain.
Labor prosecutors filed a new complaint Tuesday alleging Trader Joe’s violated employees’ rights at a California store ahead of a union election last year, adding to a growing pile of union-busting charges against the popular grocer.
The general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board says a manager at the Oakland store threatened workers by equating their desire for a union with disloyalty, and disparaged those who delivered a union petition as a “gang.”
The manager also allegedly “interrogated” workers about the union, including asking about their social media posts, and “created an impression of surveillance” regarding the organizing effort. Workers were told they could lose hours or have their store closed if they chose to support the union, according to the complaint.
The charges assert that two assistant managers also broke the law by questioning workers about the union effort and corralling them into meetings, to force them into hearing management’s “unsolicited views” on collective bargaining.
Trader Joe’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.