Some Whole Foods employees are instigating a union drive, according to a letter leaked to the press Thursday. Citing layoffs and falling morale since the company’s 2017 acquisition by Amazon, the workers plan to push for higher wages and better benefits.
A group that identifies itself as Team WFM’s Cross Regional Committee sent the letter to employees at most of the chain’s 490 stores Thursday, reports the New Food Economy. “Over the past year, layoffs and the consolidation of store-level positions at Whole Foods Market have upset the livelihood of team members, stirred anxiety, and lowered moral [sic] within stores,” the letter reads. “It is time to hold John Mackey accountable in supporting his team members.”
Mackey is the CEO and co-founder of Whole Foods. He has long been staunchly anti-union as an employer, and once famously said that a “union is like having herpes. It doesn’t kill you, but it’s unpleasant and inconvenient.”
Amazon and its chief executive, Jeff Bezos, are targeted in the letter. “There will continue to be layoffs in 2019 and beyond as Amazon aims to aggressively trim our labor force before it expands with new technology and labor models,” the letter warns. “We cannot let Amazon remake the entire North American retail landscape without embracing the full value of its team members. The success of Amazon and WFM should not come at the cost of exploiting our dedication and threatening our economic stability.”
The letter indicates that workers will be pushing for a $15 minimum wage, paid maternity leave, profit sharing, 401(k) matching, and other benefits. Whole Foods has historically provided marginally better wages and benefits to workers than some other grocery retailers, though some employees have reported degraded working conditions in the wake of the company’s acquisition.
Amazon bought Whole Foods last year for $13.4 billion. Other workers in the Whole Foods supply chain — including truck drivers for Whole Foods’ main supplier, United Natural Foods, Inc. — have also unionized in reaction to the acquisition.