PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Workers at the Whole Foods on Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia could become the first in the chain to join a union after asking the National Labor Relations Board to hold a unionization vote.
In an online statement, the workers said an overwhelming majority at the store want a “collective voice to fight for what we deserve,” and that “no one should have to beg for fair compensation and better working conditions while working for one of the most profitable organic grocers in the world!”
The 300 workers at the Spring Garden supermarket would be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Local 1776 President Wendell Young says the union has been working through the year to get ready for the vote.
“They’re well organized within the store and there is a lot of support for forming a union and achieving a union contract, so we’re really proud of the way they’ve been working together to get to where they are now,” Young said.
Young says Whole Foods, which generates nearly $94 billion a year, follows the model of its owner, Amazon, putting unrealistic demands on workers.
“The issue that these workers talk a lot about is the treatment that they think is just unfair and pushing them too far and not considering, as human beings, there are limits to what people can do, not just at this store, it’s all stores and distribution centers,” Young said.
Amazon is known for aggressively resisting unionization attempts. The National Labor Relations Board has accused the company of interfering in organizing efforts. The one unionized warehouse still has no contract two years after its union vote.
Whole Foods says it recognizes the workers’ right to make a decision on a union, but in a letter to workers it said, “We believe a union is not needed at Whole Foods,” and that “it would limit your ability to speak for yourself and pursue your own career journey.”
“When people are doing their best to get their jobs done, Amazon, Whole Foods’ perspective is ‘not enough, you need to do more because we have this computer program that says you can,’” Young said.
Young hopes to get the election scheduled before the end of the year and begin working on a first contract immediately.
The store would be one of the first Amazon businesses in the United States to form a union.