Massachusetts Trader Joe's Workers File To Unionize

HADLEY, MA — Workers at a western Massachusetts Trader Joe's filed to unionize late Tuesday night. If the vote is successful, the Hadley store would become the first union at the grocery store chain, which has more than 500 locations nationwide.

This week's union push isn't the first time Hadley Trader Joe's employees — or "crew members" — have tried to unionize.

The first attempt, earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, was unsuccessful, but crew member and union organizer Maeg Yosef said she and her coworkers started discussing the possibility again early this year, partly inspired by recent unionizations at Starbucks.

Yosef has worked at Trader Joe's for over 18 years, and said she's seen a dramatic decrease in retirement benefits in that time. The pandemic also gave rise to health and safety concerns among crew members; Yosef said robust COVID-19 safety measures early on were lifted "as soon as possible."

The Hadley, Massachusetts crew is filing to create an independent union, instead of joining an existing group.