Whole Foods Employees Ask For a Union

[Omaha Steve]

X post in Labor

http://gawker.com/whole-foods-employees-ask-for-a-union-1655959545

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--LJa4r8IH--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/dvlzkyzmxlnlj1baiy1l.jpg

Hamilton Nolan
Filed to: LABOR Friday 12:54pm

Whole Foods has had a pretty bad year. Its stock cratered in 2014, as lower-cost competitors undercut its prices. But now earnings are up, the stock is on the rise, and the company has a new problem: some of its workers would like a union.

After a strong earnings report this week, the company is busy touting its plans for expansion and reveling in its rising sales brought on by a new commitment to "value," rather than just [joke about kale being very expensive]. Revenue is up and Wall Street is happy with Whole Foods again—all because its strategy of attracting lower-income customers is now showing some success.

Whole Foods, despite its bourgeois reputation and popularity with America's suave liberals does not differ that much from Walmart when it comes to its labor practices. Its CEO John Mackey (pictured) has compared unions to herpes, and said just last year: "Our team members are not being prevented from joining unions, they've chosen not to...Why would they want to join a union? ... We're not so much anti-union as beyond unions."

Wrong you are, John Mackey! There is now an official movement on to unionize at least one Whole Foods store on 4th street in San Francisco. A press release that went out yesterday says that 20 workers held a rally and "initiated a temporary work stoppage to deliver a petition to Whole Foods management demanding a $5 an hour wage increase for all employees and no retaliation against workers for organizing a union." If they don't get a satisfactory response by November 14, they say, they will "begin taking job actions."

FULL story at link.

[grahamhgreen]

1. Kick!

[RufusTFirefly]

2. Considering the IWW, according to the update. Great!

It's a gamble, for sure, but customers who mistakenly think of Whole Paycheck as some progressive shopping oasis are not going to be thrilled if Mackey takes any heavy-handed actions to squelch this. Sometimes reality is forced to rise up and match perception. Good luck to Whole Foods workers in their efforts!

[TBF]

3. Mackey has always been

a horrible libertarian. There are stories going way back but somehow many liberals never have gotten the memo. It is generally what we call the "third way" - the more corporate type dems that seem to shop there. My pediatrician loves the place. She is a very nice lady but grew up quite wealthy. I'm sure her heart is in the right place but I doubt she knows any of this. So glad the workers are fighting back but it will be tough against that guy.

[drynberg]

4. SOLIDARITY

GO

[stillwaiting]

5. Trying to establish a "post-union mentality" I see. Fuck him. Unionize! nt

[marble falls]

6. John Mackey is an arrogant jack ass.

[geardaddy]

7. Solidarity!

John Mackey is libertarian asshat.