In The Blogs

Whole Foods vs. Unions

| Mon Mar. 23, 2009 4:25 PM PDT

— Photo courtesy of Whole Foods

In what's being euphemistically dubbed the 'third way', the CEOs of Whole Foods, Costco, and Starbucks have joined together to lay out a 'compromise' to the management/labor stand-off over the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). At issue is whether employees interested in forming a union would be allowed to choose their union formation process. Current law lets companies insist upon a secret-ballot election, even when employees would prefer a majority sign-up method.

I'm not going to restate the merits of labor's position (you can read about it here and here) but surely we can agree that employees should be able to choose how they decide to form a union, right? Well, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey thinks it's un-American.

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Mackey said that binding arbitration is "not the way we normally do things in the United States" and that allowing workers to organize without a secret ballot "violates a bedrock principle of American democracy."

First, if Mackey thinks that binding arbitration isn't the way we do things in the US, then perhaps he should try reading a copy of Mother Jones... after all, they're sold at Whole Foods markets.

Second, Mackey's tired canard has been debunked over and over. Even the Wall Street Journal editorial board, home of anti-labor commentary, finally admitted last week that the "the bill doesn't remove the secret-ballot option." Again, it merely allows employees to choose the union formation process.

So, why would "mission-driven" Whole Foods CEO John Mackey keep repeating this worn out lie? I mean, I understand that he doesn't like unions, but he's pissing off his good progressive customers who expect that the company's motto—"Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet"—actually means something. This customer is not satisfied.

Comments

GOP Says EFCA’s Secret

Submitted by John Bryans Fontaine (not verified) on Mon Mar. 23, 2009 8:15 PM PDT.

tagged as:

solution

GOP Says EFCA’s Secret Ballot Is Sacrosanct — But RNC Itself Forbids It! By Greg Sargent, The Plum Line http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/republican-national-committee/gop-says...

A secret ballot is the only

Submitted by Publius Nativus (not verified) on Tue Mar. 24, 2009 3:48 PM PDT.

A secret ballot is the only method that prevents coercion. It doesn't matter if secret ballot remains an option if it is possible to coerce people against their will by using another method. That is why even George McGovern doesn't like the EFCA.

This is incredibly

Submitted by Allen (not verified) on Tue Mar. 24, 2009 11:01 PM PDT.

tagged as:

solution

This is incredibly dishonest. I suppose you'd be fine with eliminating the secret ballot in a city-wide election if a couple of thugs went from door to door 'asking' people to sign it? Organized crime and organized labor have been linked for at least six decades. If you think everybody who waives their secret ballot protections will do so voluntarily, you're wrong. I offer you a counter-proposal: Have a secret ballot on whether or not there should be a secret ballot or card check certification. That way, workers can choose to waive their secret ballot rights in a meaningful way, rather than at the risk of their car tires or legs.

Also, your quotation of the

Submitted by Allen (not verified) on Tue Mar. 24, 2009 11:05 PM PDT.

Also, your quotation of the WSJ is wildly dishonest. You quote it as saying: "Second, Mackey's tired canard has been debunked over and over. Even the Wall Street Journal editorial board, home of anti-labor commentary, finally admitted last week that the 'the bill doesn't remove the secret-ballot option.' Again, it merely allows employees to choose the union formation process." The actual text: "The bill doesn't remove the secret-ballot option from the National Labor Relations Act but in practice makes it a dead letter." The piece then explains why. Why do you feel the need to misrepresent your source?

Allen don't like Unions.

Submitted by Paddy (not verified) on Wed Mar. 25, 2009 5:52 PM PDT.

We get it Allen: You don't like unions. You think they're a bunch of thugs. You think that WSJ opinions sing the gospel truth... (bet their lawyers forced that line in there). Well, we're left wondering if you know any workers who are in unions?? From a link which you probably didn't follow... # The results were telling: 22% of workers surveyed said management "coerced them a great deal.' 6% said the same for unions. During the NLRB election, 46% of workers complained of management pressure. During card check elections, 14% complained of union pressure. Workers in NLRB elections were twice as likely as workers in card check elections to report that management coerced them to oppose (it's worth noting that in card-check elections, 23% of workers complained of management coercion -- more than complained of union coercion). Workers in NLRB elections were more than 53% as likely to report that management threatened to eliminate their jobs. Even more interesting, fewer workers in card check campaigns said coworkers pressured them to join the union (17% to 22%). Workers in card check elections were more than twice as likely to report the employer took a neutral stance and let the workers decide. #

stats source?

Submitted by Nedhead on Sun Apr. 5, 2009 9:47 AM PDT.

Paddy, where are you getting those numbers? You mention a link, but i don't see anything.

link

Submitted by Mike (not verified) on Wed Apr. 8, 2009 10:45 AM PDT.

"...restate the MERITS of labor's position..." http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=10&year=2006&...

I was fired in Berkeley for organizing...

Submitted by chuck mcnally (not verified) on Tue Apr. 7, 2009 8:42 PM PDT.

Doesn't matter where you are at in the United States, workers even get fired in Berkeley of all places for union organizing. I was involved in helping to organize Berkeley Bowl, which is a locally owned grocery store similar to Whole Foods(but way better), and got fired along with another co-worker. Originally we wanted to push for a card check, but we didn't have enough power even in Berkeley to force the employer to agree with this. So we decided to go forward with the NLRB "secret ballot election" and lost the election. We documented all of the violations of workers rights by Berkeley Bowl leading up to the election though, and were able to get a bargaining order from the National Labor Relations Board. It is highly unusual for the Labor Board to make rulings like this though, less than 1 percent of rulings, even though bosses use the same intimidation tactics against workers in these elections throughout the country. Why? Because usually companies/owners/bosses get away with it and pay small fines for firing people and violating workers rights in these elections, but manage to keep their companies free of unions... Just one of many examples out there...and I know some of the Whole Foods workers who organized in Madison. There story with their organizing efforts is similar...Same thing at WalMART, Starbucks, and even Pete's Coffee out here on the west coast...