Trader Joe’s, my old pal and I, now have beef. As of March 11, Trader Joe’s has teamed up with Starbucks, SpaceX and Amazon to create a supervillain group large enough to take on the nation’s only defense against 1920s style labor anarchy: the National Labor Relations Board. The very fact that Trader Joe’s is being mentioned in the same sentence as Starbucks and Amazon is a dead giveaway that they are up to no good.
If the working class is the backbone of this country, unions are the chiropractor. They exist to ease suffering and straighten out problems between employees and their employers. Unions bring workers’ issues to the attention of companies so that they can be properly addressed. For this reason, they are constantly under attack from corporations who wish to exploit their workers without interference. The termination of unions, often using fear tactics, is commonly known as union-busting.
To understand what exactly the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) does, you must think back to the times before it existed, a time that was ruled by what many people refer to as the “Law of the Jungle.” The 1920s were a bad time to be a worker bee. About 40% of the population was working in factories or other blue collar fields and faced dangerous, unjust working conditions each day. After years of constant strikes, labor shortages, lawsuits and growing tension between the upper and middle classes, the NLRB was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to ensure that workers rights were respected and that any group of people who wanted a union could start one.
You may be wondering “Why on Earth is Trader Joe’s associating with these companies?”, and that’s a fair question, but the truth is that hiding behind a friendly face and gluten free snacks is something far more sinister: a long history of mistreating employees and pressuring workers to avoid facing the consequences.
Trader Joe’s, Starbucks, SpaceX and Amazon are all suing the NLRB due to recent disputes regarding their union busting. The reason for the suit essentially boils down to this: the NLRB is reasonably competent and has been consistently holding these companies accountable in a way that the companies feel is unconstitutional.
Amazon has been known for unfair treatment of workers for years, and Starbucks has been suffering from boycotts all year, in part due to their anti-union actions. Trader Joe’s has had success for years because of their down-to-earth vibe and friendly atmosphere; as a result, they have been working around the clock to hide their labor disputes and anything that could jeopardize their image. The day that news broke about the lawsuit they are participating in, they went as far as to release a cute new tote bag that would hold consumers attention and come up first on a Google search for “Trader Joe’s.”
The reason this lawsuit is concerning is because these huge companies with matching sway in the economy are attempting to restrict the actions of the NLRB so that they will have less ability to enforce laws and investigate complaints. It’s like if a mob boss wanted to sue the police department for catching too many of their knee cap-breakers.
If unions aren’t bad, why are companies afraid? When your power and, more importantly, your profits comes from making sure your employees feel small and powerless, anything that uplifts them in the slightest is a threat. The truth is that CEOs should be scared. Even if pro-labor changes in the government aren’t coming anytime soon, the increase in union activity in these mega corporations is an enormous step in the right direction.
Let this serve as a reminder to all of us that even beloved brands like Trader Joe’s are nothing more than corporations that seek to mistreat workers and rob consumers in order to make grotesque amounts of money.
