Whole Foods

History

2020

Creation of the thermal card not to allow consolidation of employees in labor unions

At the end of April, 2020 it became known that the network of Whole Foods grocery stores belonging to Amazon traces employees using the thermal card not to allow their consolidation in labor unions.

The thermal card works at a basis of a complex system of calculation of points which assigns score to each of 510 Whole Foods shops on the basis of the probability of formation of labor union. Estimates are calculated proceeding from more than two tens indicators, including a racial variety, loyalty of employees, phone calls in personnel department and the violations registered by Management on security and occupational health. On the card local economic and demographic factors, such as unemployment rate and share of the families which are living below the poverty line in this area are also traced.

Whole Foods started the thermal card not to allow consolidation of employees in labor unions

The thermal card of the relations [between the staff of shop] is intended for risk assessment of creation of labor unions, - the persons who provided this information say. - Early identification of such risks allows to send resources for problem solving to places with the highest rates to reduce the probability of consolidation of employees.

Representatives of Whole Foods did not begin to respond to these statements directly:

Whole Foods Market recognizes the rights of members of our command for the accession to labor union. We agree with the vast majority of our employees that as the best solution of all problems serves direct link with the management of Whole Foods Market at which support open communication lines, and each employee can share the opinion directly with the head.

According to the labor market experts polled by the Business Insider edition, tracking of active or potential associations of employees - rather widespread practice among the large companies.^[1]

Jeff Bezos urges employees to sacrifice a holiday and to come to work instead of the patients with a coronavirus

In the middle of March, 2020 Jeff Bezos urged the staff of the product retailer Whole Foods belonging to Amazon to offer a holiday and to come to work instead of colleagues who either caught a coronavirus or were forced to go to a quarantine. Employees are dissatisfied with such solution and consider that Bezos's means allow it to close temporarily shops and to provide to workers unlimited paid sick leave for the period of emergency state in the country.

Jeff Bezos urged the staff of the product retailer Whole Foods belonging to Amazon to offer a holiday and to come to work instead of colleagues who either caught a coronavirus or were forced to go to a quarantine

In the letter to the employees the CEO of Whole Foods John McKee (John Mackey) noted that workers can "offer" the "paid holidays days" in the general pool of means which other workers could use. McKee also said:

Employees who need emergency medical service can receive the offered hours of the paid sick-list not only from team members in own shop, but also from other employees through the whole country.

Though such practice is quite widespread in the USA, before threat of a pandemic the similar course was regarded as short-sighted and cruel.

The journalist Lauren Kaori Gurley noted that "as the Amazon subsidiary company, Whole Foods could easily dare to pay hospital days for the period of the outbreak of a coronavirus, practically without having offered anything. Instead the company conferred all responsibility on workers to what they will hardly remain are glad".

The richest person in the world asks the people who are hardly living for the salary to offer it for the sake of each other — Matthew Hunt, the former employee of Whole Foods heading labor union of employees of Whole Foods venomously noted. — What irony. Considering the amount which Jeff Bezos earns in one day, it could close shops and send all employees on a paid leave for the period of epidemic that they were in security.[2]

2017: Amazon buys Whole Foods

In August of Amazon absorbed Whole Foods.

Notes