Service & Solidarity Spotlight: AutoZone Workers Vote to Join UAW, First for Nationwide Chain

Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

Workers at an AutoZone location in White Plains, New York, have made history by voting to join UAW Local 259, making them the first store at the country’s largest auto parts retailer to organize for a fair contract.

Staff cited concerns around low pay and unfair working conditions as core motivators for joining together for a stronger voice on the job. LaborLab—a nonprofit labor rights watchdog organization—and workers identified at least 11 corporate executives, along with several regional and district managers, who appeared at the store leading up to the vote.

“It’s like hitting a fly with a mallet,” said Mike DiGuiseppe, Local 259’s vice president. “They’ve had more corporate executive union-busters in the store than workers.”

“Our goal is to get compensation, job security, just more things that closely reflect the value that we know that we bring to the company. We’re not getting close to what we’re worth,” said David Valencia, who works at the AutoZone store. “There is no bargaining when you’re alone. They’re only going to bargain when you’re together. So we don’t have a choice. Either we’re going to live in poverty and not be able to pay our bills, or we’re going to do this.”