Trader Joe’s closed its beloved NYC wine shop ‘after workers threatened to unionize’

Workers from Trader Joe’s beloved wine store in New York City’s Union Square say the discount grocery chain decided to close them down after they threatened to unionize, like thousands of other workers across the county. 

The wine store was a firm favorite among New Yorkers who for more than 15 years, were willing to grit their teeth through the long checkout lines to nab their favorite wines at knock-down prices. 

That was until earlier this month, when a flimsy notice appeared on the store’s doors notifying customers that it was closed for good. 

Workers from the shuttered store now tell The Huffington Post that they were planning to unionize and were days away from it when the store shut its doors. 

Of the 30 members of staff, 22 had voted to form a union. 

On August 11, the store suddenly closed with no warning to staff or to the customers who frequented it 

‘It’s totally to stop the union effort before it can begin. My regulars are pissed. It makes us look really bad. It makes [the company] look bad to put their employees out of work like that with no notice,’ Jonathan Reuning, 63, said. 

He had worked with the company for five years. 

Now, the staff say they are out of a job, despite TJ’s claiming it plans to open an even better and bigger wine store somewhere else in the state. 

The company has not offered any official comment on its decision to close the store. 

Some of the staff said it was to deter employees in other stores from similar efforts. 

‘They’re hoping this dissuades other workers from doing the same thing we’ve done,’ Rob Bradlea, another wine store worker, said. 

One worker from the adjacent grocery store told DailyMail.com on Thursday morning that the reason for the closure was landlord NYU. 

They said they had been told by executives that NYU was stopping the store from selling hard liquor – which they have a license for.  

‘They don’t want us to sell hard liquor but we have a license to, so we’re going somewhere where we can do that,’ the worker, who gave her name only as Elizabeth, said. 

It may be that executives wanted to expand to a bigger premises anyway, and are bound by a New York State law that prohibits companies from owning more than one wine or liquor store. 

Pro-union activists demonstrate in New York City last month, accusing CEO Howard Schultz of anti-union efforts

Union advocates demonstrate against Starbucks’ anti-union stance during a 2021 demonstration in New York City

The store lease is still in the company’s hands and will now be used as a fulfillment center of sorts for the adjacent grocery store. 

The union plans mimic similar efforts by workers at other major retailers including Starbucks, Google, Amazon and Apple. 

Those major corporations are resisting staff efforts to organize. 

This week, Starbucks asked the National Union Labor Board to halt workers from casting mail-in ballots for their union elections. 

Experts say it’s down to a combination of COVID-19 pandemic terrifying workers about their rights, the cost-of-living crisis and a galvanizing message from Joe Biden, who promised to be the ‘most pro-union president ever’.