Listen to story:

Download: mp3 (Duration: 19:05)

FEATURING SARAH BETH RYTHER – Workers at popular American brand name companies like Starbucks, Amazon, and Apple are launching a new and powerful chapter in U.S. labor organizing. The National Labor Relations Board–the federal agency tasked with overseeing union elections–announced earlier this year that union election petitions were up 57% in the first half of the year.

Now, Trader Joe’s, the iconic grocery store chain that originated in Southern California and has stores all over the country, is joining the union wave. Workers at a store in Hadley, Massachusetts became the first in the corporate chain to announce a union election, which takes place in late July. A second store, in Minneapolis, has now submitted enough union cards to petition for an election.

Already have an account? Sign in