“Workers at a Whole Foods Market in Pennsylvania voted to unionize on Monday, becoming the first group of employees to pull off a labor win at the Amazon-owned grocery store chain,” reported the Associated Press. The move marks the first successful entry of organized labor into Amazon’s grocery business, which includes Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go convenience stores.
According to CNBC, store workers cast 130 votes in favor and 100 votes against joining the United Food and Commercial Workers union. The store, which is located in Philadelphia’s Spring Garden neighborhood, employs roughly 300 workers.
The local union said the store workers hoped a successful vote would help them secure higher wages, more affordable health care coverage, childcare support, greater work-life balance and better working conditions, AP reported.
“The vote is the latest instance of Amazon workers putting pressure on the company to deliver higher wages and safety improvements. Amazon has faced an upswing in organizing among its warehouse and delivery workforce in recent years. The company has argued its employees don’t need unions, which stand to disrupt the control it has over its workforce,” wrote CNBC.
Nearly three years ago, Amazon warehouse workers in the New York City borough of Staten Island voted to be represented in labor negotiations by a fledgling union that has since affiliated with the Teamsters, reported AP. But Amazon “has refused to come to the bargaining table.”
This comes amidst a report from the Washington Post that “The share of American workers in unions edged down in 2024, reaching its lowest level on record, even as the year was marked by a surge in union election filings and several high-profile strikes."
The union membership rate dropped by one-tenth of a percentage point to a new low of 9.9 percent last year, the Labor Department said, while the total number of union members in the United States barely budged last year, with a loss of roughly 100,000 members.
About 14.3 million workers were in unions in 2024, according to the Labor Department.
“The private sector lost about 184,000 members in 2024, while the public sector gained about 15,000 members,” wrote the Post. “Many labor unions have been bracing for the new Trump administration to be hostile to unions and to swiftly reverse recent decisions that have made it easier for workers to unionize.”
Last week, NACS Daily reported that in pursuit of higher wages and renegotiated employee benefits, more than 18,000 Costco union members nationwide voted to authorize a strike if the company doesn’t agree to their terms by January 31.