Whole Foods workers start union drive

Some workers at Whole Foods Market are trying to form a union, seeking better compensation and benefits and claiming that conditions have worsened since Amazon bought the organic grocer last year.

In an email sent to Whole Foods employees on Thursday, the union drive's organizers said layoffs and consolidation at stores had put employees' livelihoods at risk, and that more was likely to come. The group proposed demanding a $15-an-hour minimum wage, better retirement benefits, paid maternity leave and lower health insurance costs, among other benefits.

"The success of Amazon and [Whole Foods Market] should not come at the cost of exploiting our dedication and threatening our economic stability," the authors wrote.

It's unclear how widely the letter was shared inside the company. The Wall Street Journal, which reported the email and union drive earlier Thursday, said the plan was to send it to employees at most of the 490 Whole Foods stores.

Executives at Whole Foods, one of the largest U.S. grocers without union representation, have long characterized their workplace policies as generous and said employees have a direct line to their managers, an assertion a company spokesman repeated in response to the organizing push disclosed Thursday.

"We're not so much anti-union as beyond unions," Whole Foods founder and chief executive John Mackey has said, citing the company's high marks in rankings of the best corporate workplaces.

Business on 09/08/2018

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