NLRB says Trader Joe's workers can organize without a union

Trader Joe’s crew do not need a union card to talk together about pay, schedules, safety or staffing. The National Labor Relations Board says workers covered by the National Labor Relations Act can form a union, assist one, join one or refuse, and can still engage in protected concerted activity outside a union, including two or more employees raising workplace concerns and, in some cases, one worker speaking for coworkers or preparing group action.

The board also draws a clear line for management. Protected activity cannot be met with coercive questioning, threats or discipline tied to those workplace complaints. For crew members at a company known for above-market pay and a tight crew culture, that means the first legal protection is often the simplest one: the right to compare notes about wages, schedules, safety or staffing before a dispute becomes a formal campaign.

Trader Joe’s United has tried to turn that workplace conversation into a contract fight. The independent labor union says it was founded and powered by Trader Joe’s workers, with all leadership roles filled by crew members. Its FAQ says it is seeking a contract that would address wages, health care, retirement, safety, paid time off and other issues. In a February 2023 bargaining update, the union said it wanted more paid time off, dedicated sick days and bereavement time, and more absence reserve for vacation and personal days. That same update said Trader Joe’s had offered eligible crew members a guaranteed retirement contribution equal to 15.4% of annual earnings in 2012. TJU also tells members that a union vote does not change pay or benefits until a contract is ratified.

The organizing fight has now produced a paper trail across several stores. Hadley, Massachusetts became the first Trader Joe’s location to unionize after a July 28, 2022 election that ended 45-31. The NLRB later listed 77 employees in a decertification case tied to that store. In Chicago, the Lincoln Avenue election listed 154 eligible voters and ended in a 70-70 tie. The board docket also shows an unfair-labor-practice case filed in Oakland on Aug. 1, 2023, and another in Minneapolis filed Feb. 26, 2025 and later closed.

The dispute has also moved into allegations over conduct inside the stores. Trader Joe’s United says the NLRB found the company violated Section 7 rights by removing union literature from a break room, and that updated complaints found merit in charges involving Steve Andrade’s termination and retirement-benefit negotiations in Hadley and Minneapolis. In November 2024, an NLRB administrative law judge found the Hadley store violated labor law by telling workers to remove union pins and by denying union members the same retirement benefits as non-union employees. Trader Joe’s said it was pleased with parts of that ruling and maintained that it does not fire employees because they support unionization.