5,000 signatures reached
To: Trader Joe’s Customers and Crew Members
Stop Sexual Harassment at Trader Joe's Brookline
Know another crew member with a similar story? There’s power in numbers. Email us at [email protected] to share your experience of sexual harassment at Trader Joe’s.
Why is this important?
We, a group of crew members at Trader Joe’s Brookline (Store 501 in Boston) who wish to remain anonymous, have witnessed our coworker sexually harass female employees on a regular basis. On July 24th, a report of sexual assault and several sexual harassment complaints were filed against this person.
We demanded the perpetrator’s immediate termination, as stipulated by the company’s zero tolerance policy toward sexual misconduct. We were confident that these statements corroborated by multiple crew members, both in terms of specific incidents against female coworkers and general patterns of behavior, would be received with due seriousness. We trusted the management team at Trader Joe’s Brookline to take immediate and appropriate action and remove these negative influences from our work environment.
On August 5th, store management announced their decision to not pursue any action against the perpetrator. They claimed that multiple statements did not provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt and that the investigation turned into a “he said, she said” case as the perpetrator denied the complaints.
The official website of the company states that at Trader Joe’s, “we value open communication and are committed to listening to our Crew.” “We structure our entire business around supporting the Crew Members” and “Behave with integrity—we treat others how we would like to be treated.”
We strongly believe that Trader Joe’s decision to not terminate the perpetrator violates the company’s core values and sends us a message that sexual misconduct is acceptable in the workplace and our integrity is to be called into question; that we will be punished for addressing the issue, as evidenced by the fact that our coworker was fired immediately after confronting the perpetrator; and that we will face retaliation for working to make our store the best it can be for crew members and customers alike, should we run afoul of employees favored by store management.
We stand against continuous sexual harassment at Trader Joe’s Brookline and believe that store management failed to listen, support, and act according to the golden rule. We demand the immediate termination of the employee that has both insinuated and instigated sexual behavior towards female coworkers and ask for your support in seeking justice for the immediate victims and other crew members affected by the offensive workplace environment at Trader Joe’s Brookline.
We urge you to sign and share this petition at bit.ly/tjharassment, spread the word using #traderjoesharassment, and use your power as Trader Joe’s customers to talk to TJ’s corporate about the company’s policies and actions taken to address the issue over the phone at 626-599-3700.
