PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Workers at the Whole Foods in Philadelphia’s Spring Garden neighborhood will vote, later this month, on whether to join the United Food and Commercial Workers, in an election that holds high stakes for the workers and the organic grocery chain.
The chain is owned by Amazon, which has managed to keep unions out of all but one of its hundreds of U.S. workplaces, sometimes with strong-arm tactics. Its one unionized facility still doesn’t have a contract, two years after organizing.
Undeterred, Philadelphia Whole Food workers asked the National Labor Relations Board, at the end of November, for a union election.
“A union allows us to have power as workers, to have a say in how the corporation treats us, and I think that’s a good thing,” said Michelle Armstrong, who works in the store’s specialty department. “I’m very happy that we’re at this point where we’re on the threshold of voting in a union. I don’t have a fear of what’s to come because what we’re doing is the right thing.”
Armstrong and other workers say pushback from the company has been somewhat mild. They say that the old management team was transferred out and a new team brought in, and some new rules were put in place. And employee areas are plastered with anti-union literature, which they call “misinformation.”
Khy Adams, a prepared foods worker, tries to correct it, gently.
“There’s a little bit of fear that I have to walk on eggshells,” she said.
Adams believes workers who oppose a union are being asked to lobby against organizing.
“It’s starting to be divisive,” she said, “which is hard to wrap my head around for a corporation that talks about sustainability and giving back to the community.”
Rob Jennings, who also works in prepared foods, says the store has also tried another tactic.
“They’re being really nice to us,” he said with a chuckle. “It feels like—what do they call it?—a charm offensive.”
The break room has been painted, and workers are being treated to junk food such as pizza and chicken wings.
Customer service supervisor Piper, who goes only by her last name, jokes it’s “killing us with kindness.”
“Wing Stop does not pay my bills. Olive Garden will not pay my health insurance,” she said. “This stuff is great, but it’s not what we’re fighting for.”
Jennings agrees management response has been a bit off the mark.
“It felt like the company really doesn’t understand what’s going on,” he said. “People at the top of the company—I think they’re increasingly disconnected with what life is like for workers in the stores.”
The workers want an increase in hours and pay. Currently, a full-time week is 37 ½ hours because lunch breaks are unpaid. The hourly rate can be as little as $16 per hour, and workers said their share of benefits can claim 19% of their paycheck.
“A majority of our team members can’t even afford to pay their rent without having a second job,” Adams said.
The workers would also like to restore some benefits that were cut after Amazon bought the chain, such as health benefits for part-time workers and a profit-sharing program.
Whole Foods has declined to make anyone available for an interview but provided an email statement:
“At Whole Foods Market, we remain committed to listening to our Team Members, making changes based on their feedback, and treating all of our Team Members fairly in a safe, inclusive working environment, while providing our Team Members with career advancement opportunities, great benefits, and market competitive compensation. Whole Foods Market recognizes the rights of our Team Members to make an informed decision on whether union representation is right for them. We agree with the overwhelming majority of our Team Members who value our open door policy and our ability to quickly respond to the needs of our workforce.”
The election is set for Jan. 27. Then the union would have to persuade Whole Foods to the bargaining table.
Piper, though, is hopeful.
“When we win this, we will be setting a new bar for other stores to do what we’re doing,” she said. “I’m really excited. It will be a precedent for what we can do as workers when we come together.”