In the three months since a Whole Foods in Philadelphia became the first unionized store in the Amazon-owned chain, at least eight employees have been fired. Some workers and their union believe they were targeted because of their support for the union.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, which represents the employees at 2101 Pennsylvania Ave., is fighting the terminations. As of Wednesday, the union filed unfair labor practices charges with the National Labor Relations Board for five of the eight firings as it collects more details.

Whole Foods has said some workers were fired for violation of policy, according to Local 1776 president Wendell Young IV, but they were only sampling products as they had been trained and instructed to do. Those affected , he said, had showed support for the union, wearing union buttons openly.

“People who were very openly against the union, who do and have done the same things, were not disciplined or fired,” Young said.

“We do not tolerate retaliation, and we respect our team members’ legal rights,” a Whole Foods Market spokesperson said via email Wednesday. “All team members must comply with company policies, which are in place in order to prioritize store operations, safety, and customer service. We consistently and fairly enforce these policies, and when they’re violated, team members may face consequences up to and including termination.”

In January, the Whole Foods in Philadelphia became the first in the grocery chain to unionize, with roughly 300 members. Some workers, during the organizing process, expressed frustration with their working conditions, healthcare benefits and wages.

The Philadelphia campaign has inspired other stores to organize, said Young, noting that workers from hundreds of other Whole Foods locations have contacted the union.

“There’s a reason the company’s trying to scare people with this type of retaliatory intimidation tactic. It’s because they’re catching wind of what’s going on around the country, and they think this is going to scare people,” Young said. “I think it’s actually gonna have the opposite reaction.”

‘I was extremely upset’

One fired bakery employee, who spoke with The Inquirer on the basis of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said they were asked to attend a meeting on April 13 in which they were asked about company policy violations, leading to the topic of product sampling.

“I was extremely upset,” they said. “It seems pretty targeted ... like they’re just trying to get rid of me for being pro-union.”

The bakery worker was instructed to sign a document that said they owed roughly $100 for the products they sampled and to list out items they remembered trying.

“They were really good at making me feel embarrassed, at making me feel like I did something wrong,” the worker said. “It was also kind of like, ‘Why me specifically, when everybody is doing this?’”

The bakery worker was then placed on unpaid leave. Days later they were fired.

While the bakery worker is interested in seeing the result of the NLRB charges, they said, “The idea of going back to being under that kind of management makes me upset, so I don’t even know if I want to go back.”

Another terminated worker, a part-time employee who also spoke to The Inquirer on the condition of anonymity, was fired Monday. She was brought into a separate meeting on April 13 “to interrogate me,” she said, and then placed on unpaid leave.

“They accused me of stealing because I have samples which … is allowed in the rule book," the worker said. But, she alleges “they’ve been enforcing the rules unevenly,” with more focus on union supporters.

She said the store team leader’s reasoning for her termination was “theft.” She doesn’t expect to get her job back but is feeling hopeful about the charges.

“I want to go through this process on principle. I want to fight the company so that they understand they can’t get away with doing stuff like this to people,” she said.

©2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Visit at inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.