We recently mentioned how the United Auto Workers filed a representation petition to unionize an AutoZone location in White Plains, NY. This petition surfaced on Aug. 17 involving retail workers and drivers, totaling a unit of 11. According to the AFL-CIO, the union won this election on Sept. 29, although the results haven’t yet been certified by the NLRB.
If you’re reading this, you know that union elections happen all the time, and yes, sometimes the units are small. This news isn’t unusual, but gosh, this campaign is getting so much attention that it’s almost bizarre.
You’d have to assume that there’s some type of “plan” at work, or at least, Shawn Fain’s union wants us to believe that there are deep thoughts happening behind the curtain. So let’s play along.
Is this the UAW’s attempt at “the next Starbucks”?
This is probably what the UAW wants people to suspect about its intent, and this is also the most likely angle that the media will latch onto if any other AutoZone locations unionize. Since this employer has over 6,600 retail stores in the U.S., you can bet that the UAW has been sniffing out other locations because Fain does like his “moon shots.”
This could mean targeting one of AutoZone’s 150+ mega hubs or a warehouse that the Teamsters tried and failed to capture in the 1990s. And AutoZone could be a Starbucks-esque feather in Fain’s “Eat The Rich” cap, one that could signal a nationwide wave at an auto-focused retailer. If that worked, then the union wouldn’t need to be so ridiculously reliant upon higher-ed workers for dues.
What’s a union fat cat not to love about that scenario?
“The next Starbucks” isn’t the flex the UAW thinks it is
Let’s get real: The first unionization of a Starbucks location happened in December 2021. Unions quickly targeted other retailers in hopes of replicating that “magic.” Yet what’s really happening with Starbucks Workers United is nothing worth bragging about. The union hasn’t reached a first contract, and multiple boycotts haven’t brought SWU any closer to that milestone. The union’s been raving about its 700th “win” (there are at least 18,000 U.S. Starbucks locations, so under 4% are unionized) for months. It’s also resorting to repeat moves by threatening another boycott.
As for the other efforts to replicate the Starbucks Workers United effect, they’re also not going well:
- REI: 11 out of 195 unionized with United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and Retail,
- Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
- Trader Joe’s: 4 locations went the indie union route.
- Apple: 1 retail location remains unionized with Communications Workers of America (CWA).
Whole Foods: 1 location unionized with UFCW.
Any contracts for any of these union “wins”? Nope.
How desperate is the UAW for some good press?
We’ve already mentioned how tiny this White Plains AutoZone unit is, and it’s not proportionate to the internet chatter happening. Articles from The Guardian and Labor Notes have popped up with interviews from union activists, and you don’t have to look far to find subreddits on the story. Famously anti-capitalist filmmaker Boots Riley, who has called for “a mass militant radical labor movement,” also added to the chatter.
The timing couldn’t be better for Fain to receive some media distractions. This was supposed to be his grand reelection season, but three ex-UAW presidents did not endorse him, and VP Rich Boyer, whom Fain tried to fire, ran against him. Vote tabulation will begin on Oct. 6, and he could still easily stay in office because it’s hard for a union president to be booted unless criminal charges are involved.
However, real legal trouble could still be coming. A grand jury subpoena was issued for testimony from federal monitor Neil Barofsky, who wrote many unflattering reports about Fain’s tantrum-filled behavior and lack of a budget. At worst, the grand jury could choose to bring charges against Fain, and at best, none of this is a good look for him.
It’s no wonder that he’s been in distraction mode by joining attorney picket lines and readying museum worker strikes while scandal swirls.
So why all the attention?
The AutoZone organizing story is receiving a lot more press than it should, but undeniably, Fain wants to mass-organize this retailer. This effort gives him a “next Starbucks” label to run with when he wants people to ignore his troubles.
On the small chance that this happens, and this does become “the next Starbucks,” this would still be an employer headache, so give us a call, AutoZone!
