Whole Foods Market (WFM) is the second-largest union-free food retailer in the U.S., behind Wal-Mart. Although CEO John Mackey has created the perception that his empire is all about abundance, bounty and the good life, there’s nothing bountiful or good about the way the company exploits workers.

It’s time to tell Whole Foods: Treat workers fairly! Can you help by distributing leaflets in front of a Whole Foods store in your neighborhood?

Believe it or not, Mackey actually said this:

“The union is like having herpes. It doesn't kill you, but it's unpleasant and inconvenient, and it stops a lot of people from becoming your lover."

WFM’s Whole Trade Guarantee, through a third-party verified program, supposedly ensures that producers and laborers in developing countries get an equitable price for their goods in a safe and healthy working environment.  But what about workers in the U.S.?

Whole Foods has taken the position that unions are not valid. The company even hands its workers a pamphlet titled "Beyond Unions." In its 27-year history, only its store in Madison, Wisc. successfully unionized, and even that eventually fell apart with no contract to show for the efforts of workers. The chain has also fended off unionizing attempts in Berkeley, Calif.; St. Paul,  Minn.; and Falls Church, Va.”
 
We want WFM and UNFI to publicly acknowledge that Fair Trade principles and practices need to be implemented as part of their entire US/North American/global supply chain for food and organic/natural products, not just for the minority of products produced overseas and certified as Fair Trade.

We are asking no more from Whole Foods than what we demand of ourselves - walk your talk, prioritize organic food and products, practice Fair Trade and social justice, and wake up to the fact that "business as usual" is a bitter recipe for injustice.
 
You can help pressure Whole Foods to stop union busting and treat workers fairly. Please volunteer today!