This fall, I had an interesting conversation with Michael Moynihan on Bari Weiss’s Honestly podcast. One topic we discussed is sometimes considered controversial and has sparked negativity in the past: labor unions. I want to use this as an opportunity to clarify a few things.
The Role of Labor Unions in Society
I believe that labor unions have played a crucial role in shaping workers’ rights over the past 150 years. From fighting for greater worker safety and better working conditions to resisting communism in Poland through the Solidarity movement, labor unions have often driven significant change and progress across the world.
In a free society, labor unions are more than just a legal right—they’re often a necessity for many businesses. In a company where employees are not treated well, labor unions may prove to be very helpful. That being said, I also think there are a lot of nuances and complexities that are often overlooked. It’s in those details where I think my perspective has often been misunderstood.
In other countries, such as Japan, “company unions,” which allow management below a senior level to also be members of the union, are completely legal. This can often result in a higher degree of cooperation between the union and the company since management’s perspective is included. Unfortunately, this type of company union has been illegal in the United States since The National Labor Relations Act was passed in 1935. This requires all labor unions to be completely independent, often creating a structure that is inherently adversarial and competitive, which ultimately does not benefit the workers or the company as much as it could if there was greater cooperation.
Labor Unions as Competitors
At Whole Foods, we tried hard to create a deep partnership with our Team Members, so I always viewed labor unions as a type of competitor. They were competing for the hearts and minds of our people. If we didn’t treat our Team Members well, they had other options—either finding new employment, talking directly to higher-level company leaders to express their concerns, or organizing a union. I respected that right. This competitive pressure wasn’t a bad thing; it kept Whole Foods honest and pushed us to become better employers over time. When Team Members can seek employment elsewhere or have the option to unionize, you can’t afford to take them for granted.
A Wake-Up Call in Madison
Our goal at Whole Foods was always to create such a great workplace that a labor union wouldn’t be necessary. But of course, Team Members had the right to unionize, and in one case, they did—at our store in Madison, Wisconsin back in 2002. This store was a remote store, 150 miles from our Regional Support Team in Chicago, and did not receive frequent visits from regional leadership. It was also a poorly managed store at the time, but this was only discovered after the Team Members had voted to unionize. The local labor union in Madison made many promises about changing the dress code, improving healthcare, and increasing pay and benefits, which led to a vote in favor of unionization.
This experience was a wake-up call for me. I spent the next year touring every Whole Foods store (which was more than 150 at that time) and spoke to many thousands of Team Members and store leaders about how we could make Whole Foods the best place to work in America. As a result of these discussions, we implemented many improvements, including better health benefits, a more flexible dress code, and increased pay. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make these changes at the Madison store due to ongoing negotiations with the union.
Over time, Team Members in Madison realized they weren’t receiving the improved benefits and policies that we had implemented in all our other stores. The union wasn’t delivering on its promises, and on November 12, 2003, the Team Members voted to decertify the union. Once that happened, they received the same pay increases and benefits as everyone else.
How Unions Helped Us Grow
Unions are serious competitors, and just like any retail competitor of Whole Foods, whether it’s Trader Joe’s, Walmart, HEB, Costco, or many others, they inspired us to be better. The presence of labor unions undoubtedly made Whole Foods a better company to work for by pushing us to continuously improve. For 20 consecutive years (until Amazon bought the company in 2017 and we were no longer an independent company), Whole Foods was selected as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America by Fortune Magazine — a testament to our commitment to being the best employer we possibly could be.
A Pragmatic Approach to Labor Unions
I am not anti-union. I support labor unions as vital institutions in all free societies and recognize the many positive changes they have made throughout the world. However, it is also important to acknowledge the complexities of labor unions in the United States. They are often adversarial in their relationships with companies and union workers must pay union dues directly out of their paychecks.
At Whole Foods, we strived to create a workplace where Team Members were happy at work and didn’t feel union representation was necessary. Unions helped make us more accountable, and this ultimately made Whole Foods a better place to work and a better company.