Trader Joe’s employees walk off job to protest firing in Hadley
Published: 07-03-2023 2:56 PM |
HADLEY — Crew members at Trader Joe’s staged a walkout Saturday afternoon to protest what they say is the unfair firing of fellow crew member Steve Andrade.
Andrade, a long-term employee and vocal union supporter, was let go June 8. Trader Joe’s United, the independent union representing employees at the store, filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board in response.
A message left for Trader Joe’s seeking comment was not returned Monday.
The union says that, according to the termination paperwork given to Andrade, the basis for the firing was his failure to remove a small power tool from the store’s premises after he was initially asked to do so by management in October 2022.
Andrade and the union say the power tool was not his and had not been used by him or anyone in the art department for many months. They claim his firing was retaliation for his union activism.
Workers on shift walked out promptly at 4 p.m. Saturday, the union stated, and were joined by numerous off-shift co-workers and community members. After approximately 40 minutes of speeches, chants, and picketing, on-duty crew members returned to work.
The walkout follows several other union actions in support of Andrade, including an in-store petition, a public petition, and an ongoing public letter writing campaign that has sent over 20,000 letters to Trader Joe’s corporate demanding Andrade’s reinstatement.
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The Hadley store was the first Trader Joe’s in the country to unionize with its vote last July. Three more stores, in Minneapolis, Louisville, Kentucky, and Oakland, California, have voted to join Trader Joe’s United since then.