The workers of Abundance Food Co-op in Rochester, New York recently voted to form a union with Workers United following a recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election.
Over 70 percent of the employees signed union authorization cards early in the process. With the guidance of seasoned organizers at Workers United, the nearly 40 workers moved quickly from there. The election was held two weeks after workers first announced their intention to organize. “[It’s] the fastest [organizing] I’ve ever encountered,” Will Westlake, an organizer with Workers United, tells Food Tank.
According to Westlake, the campaign began with a simple but meaningful conversation with a bakery shift lead. This spurred a group of committed grocery workers to begin organizing for a stronger voice in their workplace
The campaign was marked by a surprisingly supportive response from management, according to Westlake. This includes an announcement from the General Manager and President of the board that they would be stepping down to make space for new leadership and direction.
Abundance is now the third grocery co-op in Upstate New York to unionize in recent years, following successful campaigns at Lexington Co-op in Buffalo and GreenStar in Ithaca. Each effort has added momentum to a growing movement of co-op workers seeking a more democratic role in their workplace, reflecting the very principles many co-ops were founded on.
The road to form a union wasn’t smooth everywhere, Westlake says. At Lexington, the first to form a union, the campaign initially faced resistance. “In Buffalo, that’s where we had a fight,” he recalls.
In contrast, Abundance’s journey has been notably collaborative. With early support from management, the campaign offers a glimpse at what it looks like when co-op leadership embraces worker voice.
“The unionization aligns with our values as a food cooperative,” Vince Ularich, Interim General Manager at Abundance tells Food Tank. “We strive to achieve our mission of providing local, sustainable and socially responsible products to the community through an equitable and empowered collective workforce. By lifting worker voices, we can be more proactive in addressing needs and ways we can better serve our community.”
Abundance workers believe their success to form a union will go beyond the store.
“My goal is for us all to make the best cooperative decisions to have a safe space for us to thrive,” Molly Walter, Assistant Grocery Manager at Abundance and organizing committee member, tells Food Tank. “I am so excited to build more strong, lasting relationships with local businesses, farms, and other cooperatives.”
Westlake emphasizes the importance of stability and long-term commitment. “If you’re seeking to build community like in a grocery store environment, which is what a co-op is really about, having people stay longer term is really important.”
The union benefits co-op employees, helping to strengthen both workplace morale and their connection to the broader community. According to Westlake, the employee turnover at the Lexington Co-op dropped from 60 percent to 40 percent after its union contract was in place.
“When the staff thrives, the store thrives. And when a community store thrives, the community itself does as well,” Walter says. “To be truly and fully engaged in our community isn’t a chance everyone gets, and it’s so exciting to be a part of.”
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Photo courtesy of Abundance Food Co-op
