"Labor Fight Collides With the Pandemic at Trader Joe’s", 02 Apr 2020

The chain has aggressively opposed unionization efforts among its employees, who have been critical of its response to the coronavirus... On March 23, as the coronavirus pandemic put grocery workers on the front lines of a public health crisis, Trader Joe’s sent a memo to store managers encouraging them to relay a message to employees: Joining a union might be a bad idea...The pandemic has led to a wave of worker activism in recent weeks, as employees at Instacart, Amazon and Whole Foods have gone on strike and demanded increased protections. A company spokeswoman, Kenya Friend-Daniel, said...Trader Joe’s has “the right to express our opinion to crew members about the pros and cons of possible unionization.”... Trader Joe’s has taken a range of steps to protect employees during the pandemic, including cutting hours and closing stores. The company already has a reputation for generous pay and benefits, and it has offered bonuses to employees working during the pandemic, [and] a week of paid sick time... But workers said the... leave was insufficient, and noted that many of the bonuses distributed so far have amounted to only a couple of hundred dollars or less. They also [denounced] inconsistent safety measures across stores, where some managers have banned gloves and face masks...