Trader Joe's appeals dismissal of lawsuit claiming labor union violated trademark

• The Trader Joe's grocery store chain appealed the dismissal of its lawsuit against Trader Joe's United, which accused that union of infringing on the company's trademark.
• The filing with the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals comes after a judge accused Trader Joe's of trying to "weaponize the legal system to gain an advantage in an ongoing labor dispute" with the union.
• The suit in Los Angeles federal court was filed six days after the National Labor Relations Board issued a consolidated complaint against Trader Joe's that alleged unfair labor practices.

Trader Joe's is asking a federal appeals court to reverse a judge's scathing dismissal of the grocery store chain company's lawsuit that alleged trademark infringement by an employee labor union in selling merchandise on its website.

The appeal, filed Thursday, comes nearly a month after the judge accused Trader Joe's of trying to "weaponize the legal system to gain an advantage in an ongoing labor dispute" against the Trader Joe's United union.

Trader Joe's, a lawyer for the company, and a spokeswoman for Trader Joe's United did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the company's filing at the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

The union, which currently represents Trader Joe's employees at two stores in Hadley, Massachusetts, and Minneapolis, is pushing to bargain for and represent employees at other stores, which the company opposes.

Trader Joe's sued the union in mid-July last year in Los Angeles federal court. The suit claimed that the group had infringed on the company's trademarks in producing "union merchandise such as buttons, mugs, t-shirts, and tote bags sold on the Union's website," Judge Hernan Vera noted in his dismissal ruling in January.

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