Be sure to read about the letter from Whole Food's CEO John Mackey on the WSJ editorial page. Make your own decisions.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/17...

Be sure and read the unedited version as it was submitted to the WSJ. You might find it is less inflammatory and does not contain adjectives like "Obamacare" that were inserted by the WSJ:

http://www2.wholefoodsmarket.com/blogs/jmackey/

Perhaps it is less inflammatory, but the point is still the same.
Add in the anti union stance and that seals the deal.

Why so big on the union? What is the need? I can understand this if the company was treating their employees poorly but WFM is consistently rated among the top companies to work for as voted on by those same employees. What gives?

Then why do they have an average 25% turn over a year?

Not aware of that figure. Maybe folks working there aren't all out to be career checkers or maybe that is the nature of retail. Perhaps better answered by a WFM employee.

See below.

http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=7860

Comparing WFM to Walmart is a little suspect. Again, I don't work there, but the employees are happy and voting it as an excellent place to work so I don't see the problem.

Myself, I've had some relatively extreme negative and violent experiences with unions so I don't trust them. I also find the environment they create is prohibitive to advancement and flexibility.

Rose, you can't force a business to be union.
You can't force it to fail, you can't force it to succeed. You only have to choose between working for it or not. Creating it or not, competing with it or not.
Do, or do not.
I love this country.

i won't be spending one single cent at any whole paycheck store. the latest reason why:

http://www.americablog.com/2009/08/whole-foods-...

HOLY CRAP!!! "WHOLE PAYCHECK"? did you make that up? that is soooo funny OMG, i've never heard such humor!!!!

ahem.

Here's a little more about the controversy from HUFPO.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/18/the-wh...

Who needs to spend any money- I love to just roam the incredible produce and check out the $17 steaks. The #1 reason though is the hot women that are there.

We can support our local farmers and fishermen and union workers without supporting a business with a black heart and a right-wing agenda that will actively undermine our community. The Ballard Farmer's Market, the Ballard Market, New Roots Organics and others contribute to our neighborhood's well being while running successful businesses. We do not need and should not patronize Whole Foods.

Don't be ridiculous. Whole Foods does not have a right wing agenda, John Mackey is a Libertarian as are a significant number of alternative health care providers. If anyone has an agenda it is the government cronies and their special interest groups who continue to try and shut down the alternative health and organic food industry. Why does a company need a union if they treat their employees better than the union treats them?

Libertarians are MORE right wing than are GOPers and most dems are GOPers who like sex.

Oh, thank you for that blanket assessment. But I don't think the differences are that simple.

Most things are fairly simple really Nora. Certainly people are. The complications are mostly manufactured and are just tossed in to confuse things and gain control.

"There is always an easy solution to every human problem--neat, plausible, and wrong." H. L. Mencken

LOL!

True Libertarians are the worst of the worst. They should all be required to spend at least one year in a true libertarian society like Somalia before being allowed to preach that crap.

Sheesh. No wonder we have such different viewpoints.

Libertarians, LaRouche followers, Naderites post 2000, Hemp extremists, Scientologists, and that guy who keeps screaming that the Frye Apartments are Communists. My tolerance for all of the above has gotten lower the more I am exposed to them, well except for that Fry Apt is Communist sign waver guy, he's at least not trying to change the way I live for some half baked idea.

Good example.

Who is 'we'? You mean you?

I know the guy who's going to run the Interbay store when it opens. Nice guy. Rough time to take over management of this particular store!

Am I excited? Will I be shopping there? Depends... Is John Mackay still the CEO? :-)

In all fairness, he has been back pedaling faster than a fixie going up a steep hill.

He's only backpedalling because he didn't think any of those stinking hippies would read the Wall Street Journal. After he changes his stance on health care, ask him when he's going to allow his workers to organize.

Card check is coming.

It's not about "allowing workers to organize." most Whole Foods employees choose not to unionize because the company treats them better than the union. Unionizing Whole Foods would force many restrictions that benefit the employees. How many non-government companies pay 100% of their employees health care premium? WFM is the only one I know of.

That may be true about Whole Foods employees, but Mackey's actively worked against the unions as a whole, not just at Whole Foods.

Some see it as inevitable, and fear that the choice will be removed in this country.
All the square pegs, all the round holes.
I see a lot of splinters...

I didn't used to shop at Whole Foods for a variety of reasons. But considering how much good they've done for the environment, their high standards of quality, and fairness in how they treat their employees, this new store will most certainly be getting my business. Add the fact that they aren't union and have a CEO who isn't afraid of the loud majority, and I'm *so* in.

It's not right to stifle people for simply voicing their opinion. At a time like this, we need to be praising creative thinking instead of trying to make everyone conform to "hope" and "change" when it will cost us loads of money. We should be supporting anyone who values their employees HALF as much as WFM and also has incredibly high standards about the environment and animal testing. I applaud WFM and will be making special trips to shop and sip on some Peet's while I'm there. Whole Paycheck or not - I'm so there.

Seems there is lots of stiffling going on by Whole Foods.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/04/are...

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/s...

http://michaelbluejay.com/misc/wholefoods.html

http://obrag.org/?p=7365

Raise your hands... how many people here are going to boycott Trader Joe's for being non-union???

Didn't think so.

That's the thing, virtually none of the shopping, dining, entertainment, services are union currently. But, anyhow, THIS one is EVIL! What a bunch of idiots. You get serviced everyday by minimum wage folks!
But go ahead, unionize everyone, see if you can even afford to have an opinion.

I am very willing to pay a little more and have a little less in order for my fellow workers to live a decent life. It's a price worth paying to live in a civil society.

Reform comes one baby step at a time. Americans are infantalized and that's all they are capable of.

Whole Foods, by their usury and blatant exploitation of customers and workers alike makes them a good early target.

Chopper you most certainly can force a business to be union. How do you think unions were started to begin with? Osmosis? What cannot be forced is the ability for people to think in their own best interest. That takes hard work and sacrifice, something few Americans are willing to do right now. Americans learn slowly. The power belongs to the workers if they choose to use it. Sadly too many today sold their power for a big car and a bigger TV and a cheap mortgage. Basically Americans choose empire over republic and are being pacified with bread and circuses but the times they are a changin’.

And Ballarddog the employees did not vote it a good place to work, Fortune Magazine did that. Based on what? Who knows what criteria was used.

I repeat. Based on a vote or survey from the employees.

Do you happen to know anything about this survey? Was it anonymous? Was it done by the company? What were the questions asked? We all know how these things are as easily skewed as are statistics.

Like I said before, I am not a WFM employee. Why don't you ask some of them? The few I know are happy working there. It should be up to them if they want to unionize or not. If they choose not to the pro union folks have no right to judge them for it. Period.

As for the best companies to work for rankings, my personal experience would leave me to believe they are fairly accurate.

If you had read some of the links I posted you would see that thery HAVE tried to organize.

Always too dang expensive. Ballard Market works for me just fine.

I have never and will never shop at Whole Foods but fools are easily parted from their money and Whole Foods as made a fortune off fools. Never underestimate the intelligence of those who follow trends.

If you ca afford it, why is it foolish? Maybe it's a good way to get away from the prols?

Whole foods is anti-union and evil...

I'll be there! Glad the armchair Socialists are not going, where would they park their anger at Obama's centrist policies?

It's kind of cute how half of Ballard thinks the Revolution is (still) coming....they must be horrified Obama's such a sensible centrist.

Hey guys, will your Revolution be televised? It'd make great reality TV: put a bunch of Ballard commies in a room and watch them purge each other for the slightest deviation of the party line. I'd pay to watch!