Another place to shop for sustainably made products is Trader Joe's. I can't say enough about their brand's Lemongrass Chicken Sticks and Margherita pizzas. (I know, real healthy.) I also like the fun hawaiian shirts, ever-friendly staff and cheap wine (two-buck Chuck!).
Some of the threads I've been reading about Whole Foods were asking about TJ's business practices, so http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifI did some research. While non-union as well, TJ's does offer medical, dental and vision benefits to full and part-time employees (number weren't available) and offers to help pay for college for the managers. An article from 2005 at Workforce.com titled, "Fostering a Loyal Workforce at Trader Joe's" claims "high employee loyalty...and low turnover". It seems they pay their employees well:
However, if money is the prime motivator, Trader Joe’s may jump-start more than its share of careers in the food industry and will most likely never be a union shop. The company pays employees an average of $21 per hour, compared with an average of $17.90 at union operations. Add to that health insurance and retirement benefits, and you’ve got all the ingredients of world-class labor practices that don’t go unappreciated by employees or unnoticed by customers. Consider last year’s four-month strike by grocery clerks in Southern California. When picket lines went up around stores operated by Kroger, Albertsons, and Safeway, customers flocked to Trader Joe’s, and sales soared an estimated 30 percent.
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Even first-year novitiates or managers in training, can have a very lucrative financial package. According to the latest available figures from the company, the total compensation for first year personnel at this level comes to $47,429. This includes an average salary of about $40,150, plus an average bonus of $950.
As a sweetener, the company contributes about $6,329 to the employee’s retirement fund at this salary level. Other features of the compensation package at Trader Joe’s include medical, dental, and vision insurance; life and accident insurance; and paid time off. Additionally, the company conducts quarterly performance reviews, usually an annual affair at most chains. But what really sets the chain apart is the company-paid retirement plan under which the company contributes 15.4 percent of an employee’s annual gross income to a tax-free income retirement account.
Not bad. So, what do TJ's employees think? From the horses' mouths, so to speak, here and here.
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