Grocery Update #47: How The Philly Whole Foods Union Campaign Was Won.

Solidarity. Also: Chili Paste.

Feb 04, 2025

Discontents: 1. Unionization Campaign Takeaways With Produce Clerk Ed Dupree. 2. Philly Whole Foods Union Statement. 3. HEAL Food Alliance On The Next USDA Secretary. 4. Seen In The Wild. 5. Tunes.

(Editor’s note: Yes, lot’s happening with the Dumpsterfire Administration and their tactless horde of pasty incels hijacking the U.S. government. I recommend this interview for starters… and now back to The Grocery Update.)

1. Produce Clerk Ed Dupree On The Philly Whole Foods Union Victory.

The Checkout: How do you feel?

Ed Dupree: I feel really good. It's not very often that you and your co-workers can fight against a company that is backed by Amazon and win. So it's a good feeling. You know, letting people know that it's possible is important.

The Checkout: What was it like working there while organizing a campaign?

Ed Dupree: So the first month, from when we went public in November, throughout December, it was really odd. Like, hyper surveillance. They brought store leads from all across the region, and just had them working in departments, and they would just be constantly looking at you. I'd be working a set, and I'd look up, and they'd look at me, and then they turn away. So like a handful of us would get to the point where we would just preemptively look at these people, and then we knew they'd look at us.

(The Checkout is proudly sponsored by The Specialty Food Association).

They would ask you four or five times, like, how are you doing? Can they help you? Like, just maintaining a constant presence. They took my team lead as well as, I think by the end of everything, maybe three departments maintained their leadership, whereas every other department lead was either sent to another store or fired. The first month December, was really weird, they were just really super kind, trying to win people over with sweetness and they're giving you treats every five seconds, catering out the ass. I've been there for eight years, and I've never seen that much catering consistently happening.

They brought in Shake Shack. It was hilarious, because we've never gotten Shake Shack here, like we've gotten some stuff before, but it was just so consistent that everyone was just looking around like, this is insane. They completely redid our break room. They repainted it. They got new tables, new countertops, new sink, they bought a huge Christmas tree that nobody asked for to spruce up the place. Yeah, it was really weird and, in terms of how they were presenting their anti-union message, it was really, it was really anemic. It was kind of like, oh, you know, unions are weird, and you don't want a union here. The first month it was like, doing shit from 20 years ago. But you could just tell that they were just not ready.

Once the new year came in, it was a bit more targeted. Their talking points were a bit more effective. They really were harping on about were dues. And I think that's something that can catch a lot of people, because they present it as though, oh, you know, you could be paying upwards from $5 to $20 per week. And they don't explain that the people that are paying like $19-$20 are probably making what leadership is making, because they're highly specialized jobs or well-tenured workers.

It was like their open door policy. That was our favorite thing, because we just started meme-ing them because the door was constantly closed. You know, open door policy, dues. I think towards the end they started trying to act like, oh, you know, we can't give job dialogues, which are like annual evaluations, or your pay and your benefits are going to freeze. It was a lot of giving people out of context information. They can't give job dialogues, but they just have to send them to the union for approval. So they were just scaring people with stuff like that, stuff they didn't really understand.

But yeah, the first month was really, really, I can only describe as goofy.

Like everyone was just looking at them, like, “What the hell are y'all doing? Like, this is really, really weird”. As soon as January 1 hit, they completely went overdrive. They were just like, lying. They started doing these, they called them chat and choose. It was like, captive audiences. But they would always be like, “Oh, well, you can leave at any time”. But then they'd stack the room with leadership so people would feel uncomfortable to get up unless they were a very vocal supporter.

They were showing people contracts from Acme and Shop-Rite. And saying “Look at this, this is terrible. This is scary”. And people were just weirded out, it just was a lot of confusion and lies.

Towards the very end, they started pulling individual workers off the sales floor and bringing them into the team lead office and just haranguing them. They did everything that you could think of. It was insane.

They started bribing workers. One of the anti-union co-workers slipped up and told an organizer that they had gotten a $500 gift card.

So they were paying people off. They tried to do this really silly poster with the most anti-union people in the store. “Whole Foods is fine. There's no problems here. We don't want a union”. And, got like six quotes from them. They went above and beyond to try to just do union busting. And it was just bizarre, and it just was very hostile towards the end,

The Checkout: How did your co-workers respond to this, and how did they react to the incoming union vote? Like, what was the vibe like?

Ed Dupree: It was definitely kind of tough towards the end. It was a little concerning, because, throughout December, it was okay, it was just kind of following up with people, checking in with people. And most people just seemed pretty solid. But the last, two or three weeks, they went into overdrive. And I think a lot of people towards the last month, it was just exhaustion, you know, because this is, like a very long period of union busting. If we were able to get it like last month, it would have been a done deal. I think we would have still won overwhelmingly. I mean, we still won pretty well, but a lot less people would have been as fatigued as they were, because it was just information overload. Some people just started checking out. Folks were starting to just get tired of it, and it was just like, I'm just ready for this to be over, I'm sick of being watched. I'm sick of these meetings. I'm sick of just everything. They started to text people because at first they're like, oh, you know, you don't want these weird union guys reaching out to you at any time, and then immediately they just started texting people, like, when they're off the clock, just mass texts throughout the store.

The Checkout: Whole Foods was saying the union's going to text you. Then Whole Foods turns around and starts mass texting employees. Every accusation is an admission.

(All photos courtesy of UFCW 1776 and the Philadelphia AFL-CIO).

Ed Dupree: Seriously. I think that was one of the funniest things, they were like, “Oh, well, this could take years”. And it's like, well, why would this take a long time? I was literally in a meeting with one of them, and with our interim team lead, and one of the new team leads, store leads, and, a new assistant store lead. And, she was like, “this could be delayed for a long time, and this could take X amount of years”. And so I asked her, “Well, why would that be?” I've heard of negotiation phases where it takes just two to three months, because they just kind of get it wrapped up. I know people, especially people who are organizing, want things to go back to normal. So are you telling me that Whole Foods as an entity would delay it? And it's like, Oh, I see you, it's just gonna be the company that's gonna make this drag this out. So why are you telling us that it's gonna take a long time when you know y'all are the ones that are gonna do it? Yeah, it was insane.

But towards the last couple weeks, I think people were just getting exhausted. You know, I had flipped from being really nervous and concerned after having some conversations with people I thought were really solid to being a bit more optimistic towards the end. I think the vibe the day of was just like, people were just ready, they were excited for it to be over. And we got, we got a lot of turnout, but yeah, it was kind of tough, because you could just tell that people were, just tired, because even if you had the right information, I think people were just like, dude, I don't even care anymore.

The Checkout: It looks like you had 230 team members vote, and you won 130 to 100, so it was a margin of almost 30%. How did the employee base respond to that?

Ed Dupree: Yeah, the first day after the election, it was a bit mixed, because I think it was like one of those things where they had just said so much stuff to either scare or concern people. Because, of that 230 count of people that ended up voting, mind you, our unit size was 297, they had either fired or promoted people to get them from voting, like roughly 30 team members, and then another 30 just abstained altogether from voting. They were saying all types of stuff the last few days to just get people to stop. You know, we would have won by a larger margin. But, I think the first day, it was mixed, you know, some people were really excited, some people were just concerned. Because, they were telling people, oh, the store could close or, you know, this could happen and that could happen. So, yeah, there was definitely, like, an air of like, Oh my God. We don't know. But the last day I was there you could just tell it was like business as usual. There weren't many upset people. We've been trying to follow up and just talk to people throughout the store. So I think people were just kind of getting acclimated with the reality of things. But yeah, I'd say for the most part, in my department, and a couple other departments that I communicated with, things are pretty good, except for a handful of people who are just uncertain.

The Checkout: What's your feeling on how Whole Foods is going to respond next?

Ed Dupree: I'm certain that they're gonna just give us a hard time. I think the day of the election, it was everyone from store management to regional management to corporate and global. I think the Vice President was also in the store. I don't know his name. One of my co-workers said he's the vice president. He explicitly said that to her. So, you know, he's not the flannel wearing, jeans and flannel guy, nah, this is the business dude.

You can tell they're licking their wounds. They're really dejected and quiet, you know, they're still acting like, oh, well, you know, this pay freeze thing is gonna happen, and we don't know about certain programs. I think they're talking about these programs that they have, it's called the CD ATL program, just kind of for people who want to fast track into leadership, that could be at risk now. So I think they are trying to lay the groundwork for a prolonged campaign of “hey, well, let's just piss people off so they'll just vote the union out in a year or something”. That's my understanding, but, yeah, it's been quiet. We're going to be talking about that raise soon. But, I'm sure Whole Foods, they're going to just do what every big corporation does, and just kind of kick the ball down the road and make us go and pick it up. It's just going to be the game plan.

The Checkout: With Trump gutting the National Labor Relations Board, do you see that as a hurdle to you guys getting a contract and Whole Foods fulfilling its side of the commitment here now?

Ed Dupree: Yeah, it definitely could be a detriment. I don't know how long it'll take, you know, for him to put some people in there, because I've heard conflicting info there. I've read conflicting things where it's like, okay, well, we can't really do anything now. But then I've heard that local offices can still generally function normally. So I don't know. I'm sure it's gonna kneecap some aspects of negotiating, like arbitration and getting a bargaining order or something like that. But it's definitely not gonna help. But I think we're just preparing people for a long fight and just trying to build up the pressure for a national campaign. We're talking to other stores at this point and trying to get our store in gear right now.

The Checkout: How has the response been from other stores?

Ed Dupree: Oh, it's been great. Yeah, a lot of people are reaching out. A lot of people reached out when we first went public. But it's been a bunch of stores from all across the country. You know, people just be like, hey, you know, I saw what y'all did, and I want to try it here. So, yeah, we're talking to folks. It's really encouraging.

The Checkout: And then, speaking of, what's the next steps for the Whole Foods Market Union in Philly?

Ed Dupree: Right now, like I mentioned earlier, we want to get that raise that they put in front of us. And we are pushing for back pay as well, since they gave it to other stores earlier this month, that and make sure our annual raises come in properly. And then we're just going to start talking to people, you know to build a bargaining committee throughout our store, and then start building the bones of a contract.

Ed Dupree. (All photos courtesy of UFCW 1776 and the Philadelphia AFL-CIO).

The Checkout: What was the role of solidarity from other union members?

Ed Dupree: It played a big part. It was really beautiful to see so many other unions. You know, we had the teachers union, we had the library workers. We had some folks from the AFL-CIO at our rally, we had some other ShopRite workers who are under UFCW come out. So, yeah, a lot of people were not only willing to come in and like, talk to people, but, social media blasts and stuff, just showing support. I think it was really cool to see so many people just come out and be like, “Look, I want to help”, and “I think you guys deserve this”. And they showed up, and I think that really played a strong part, because it kind of made it a lot clearer for a lot of our co -workers, and especially organizing committee members, to understand that this is what this is about. This is making people understand it. We are part of a much larger movement.

Because Whole Foods wanted to make it like, “Oh. This store is just weird, leadership was bad”, and no, no, this is a Whole Foods problem in general. And there's a lot of people in other companies and in other industries of labor that not only understand why us having a union would be a great thing, but they're willing to stand alongside us and to show us support. So yeah.

Solidarity was really huge, and it just it makes me proud to be a Philadelphian, because you can just tell that that's very much in our DNA. It's awesome.

The Checkout: What would you like to say to people who read this, if they want to do the same thing that you guys did and start a union at their workplace? What would be a couple points of advice or encouragement you'd have for them?

Ed Dupree: Yeah, it's possible. You know, it takes a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication, a lot of persistence.

But you know, really, the biggest things about organizing and building a union is understanding the needs of your co-workers. Being a good co-worker is really important.

Having those face to face conversations and making sure that not only do you have their trust, but when they place it in you, that you show them that you really value it. And I think when we come together and we help one another, it makes it a lot more tangible, that worker solidarity or worker power, when people come together. It's talking to people, meeting them where they're at, you know, sometimes it's hard. So you know, sometimes you just gotta keep it simple. But yeah, there's a lot of resources out there if you really think that your workplace needs a union. And look, we all deserve a union. It's just getting out there and making those connections and having those conversations. And yeah, it's not easy, but it's work that can be and needs to be done.

It is cool, because you hear from folks that used to work for the company, like, a decade ago. And they're hype as well, man, they're just like, “Yo, y'all, did this”. And, you know, it can be done.

2. Statement from Whole Foods Workers on Historic Union Victory:

PHILADELPHIA (January 28, 2025) - Yesterday, we, the workers of Whole Foods’ flagship store in Center City Philadelphia, made history by voting to unionize with UFCW Local 1776. This victory is not just ours—it belongs to every worker who believes in the power of standing together for fair wages, better benefits, and a safer, more supportive workplace.

For months, we faced a relentless campaign of intimidation, misinformation, and anti-union tactics from Amazon and Whole Foods management. They underestimated our determination and unity. Despite their best efforts to silence us, we stood firm because we knew that organizing was the only way to ensure that our voices were truly heard. Whole Foods must now give us the raises that they claimed to withhold so as not to influence the election.

This win is a testament to the strength of solidarity.

It proves that when workers come together, even against a billion-dollar corporation, we can achieve meaningful change. We are incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished, and we hope our success inspires workers at other Whole Foods locations and beyond to stand up for their rights.

We are excited to begin the next chapter of this journey as we work with UFCW Local 1776 to negotiate our first contract. We know this is just the beginning, and we are committed to fighting for the dignity, respect, and fairness that all workers deserve.

Thank you to everyone who supported us throughout this process—our families, our community, and the union that stood by us. Together, we are stronger.

In solidarity,
The Workers of Whole Foods Center City Philadelphia

(Social Media Post courtesy of Philly Whole Foods Union Instagram).

3. HEAL Food Alliance Statement on Next USDA Secretary.

“Our food and farming communities deserve leadership that champions the needs of everyone, regardless of where we live or what we look like. The next Secretary of Agriculture must ensure that all farmers, ranchers, farmworkers, and food system workers have the resources they need to thrive.

“Unfortunately, Brooke Rollins lacks the agricultural expertise required to effectively lead the USDA. Her history demonstrates a disregard for and lack of commitment to supporting Black, Indigenous, and other farmers and ranchers of color, as well as small and family farmers, farmworkers, and the working people who sustain our food system.

“Rollins, as Secretary of Agriculture, will be a serious setback for farmers, ranchers and rural communities already burdened by extreme weather events; livestock disease outbreaks; challenges in accessing land, capital, and new markets; food insecure families who rely on federal assistance to reach their nutritional needs; and for small and family farms being squeezed out by powerful food and agriculture corporations.

“Despite this, we call on this new Secretary to prioritize disaster relief for farmers facing climate-related disruptions, invest in small farms and those practicing traditional, cultural, and ecological farming methods, ensure protections for food and farmworkers, and safeguard vital nutrition programs like SNAP to reduce hunger nationwide.”

HEAL is a national multi-sector, multi-racial coalition of 55 organizations. We are led by our members, who represent over 2 million rural and urban farmers, ranchers, fishers, farm and food chain workers, indigenous groups, scientists, public health advocates, policy experts, community organizers, and activists. Together, these groups are building a movement to transform our food and farm systems from the current extractive economic model towards community control, care for the land, local economies, meaningful labor, and healthful communities nationwide, while supporting the sovereignty of all living beings. The HEAL (Health, Environment, Agriculture, Labor) Food Alliance was born out of the knowledge that no single individual, organization, or sector can transform systems in isolation. We believe that true transformation requires diverse skills, roles, and resources— and, it requires organizing together for real change.

4. Seen In The Wild.

Got this chili paste at a Vietnamese grocer in Philly awhile back, then left it in my kid’s fridge for like 3 months and finally remembered it last week. It tastes like concentrated sriracha without the sugar. Yes, it totally rips. Been putting it on literally everything.