Trader Joe’s Illegally Closed New York Store To Stop Union Organizing, Feds Say

Federal labor officials allege in a new complaint that Trader Joe’s shut down its wine shop in New York City in 2022 in order to blunt a union organizing effort.

The general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board argues that the grocer’s decision to close the store amounts to unlawful retaliation, and that Trader Joe’s should have to reopen the store and make the affected employees “whole” for any wages they lost.

The Jan. 12 complaint also accuses Trader Joe’s of illegally “interrogating” pro-union workers and threatening to take away benefits if they unionized, according to an NLRB spokesperson.

The group that was organizing at the store, the United Food and Commercial Workers union, said in a statement Thursday that the complaint brings workers “ closer to getting the justice they deserve.”

“Trader Joe’s shamelessly and illegally engaged in union busting to scare Trader Joe’s workers across the region and stop these workers from having a voice on the job,” the union said.

Trader Joe’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

The UFCW filed unfair labor practice charges against Trader Joe’s after the wine store abruptly closed in summer of 2022. The NLRB general counsel’s decision to pursue a complaint against the company means board officials investigated and fount merit in the union’s claim that the closure was retaliatory.

If the general counsel can’t reach a settlement with Trader Joe’s, the case will be tried before an administrative law judge.

It is against the law for companies to close a store solely because workers there are trying to organize. But even when officials can prove such a closure was retaliatory, as a practical matter it is extremely difficult to compel a