38 Comments

I live in an area with an economy largely supported by union wages and worker input on working conditions, home of the Ford Motor Company. It is worth noting that the operative word with Musk, Bezos, and Henry Ford is "control" as in control freaks who want the reins on pay and working conditions (although Ford's opposition to the unions was also based on his belief that unionization was part of an international Jewish plot to control the world). In the case of all three of these guys, their success seems to have led them to believe that they should extend the borders of their "control" with communication satellites and space flight and in the case of Ford, the development of a "controlled" community, Fordlandia, in South America. Ceding any control is not in the natures of Musk or Bezos, and I will forever despise Musk for shutting down his Starlink satellite system in Ukraine in the early weeks of the Russian invasion thereby enabling Russia.

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Here's something interesting about Musk: his family are not actually "Afrikaners." They haven't been there many generations. The fam,ily was originally in Canada, but in 1949, his father looked around at Canada and told himself he didn't like what he saw, so he moved the family to South Africa. The attraction was that the National Party had taken power and was instituting Apartheid.

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I despised Musk before he did that , but the abject cruelty of that move was over the top even for him. Lots to think about.

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Damn it TC, this certainly a very fine mess you’ve so aptly described

When the Constitution, as interpreted by puppets owing their largesse to Oligarchs, no longer protects it’s citizens from the Aristocracy, when this Gang of Six systematically dismantles our society’s precedent because they interfere with the creation of Neo Serfdom, a black cloud is forming around the soul of America as less than half the country understands Civics while the rest think this is NFL Sunday

The dumbing down of America is Reaganesque. Its not Trickle Down, its Trickle Away

Its been the Plan man, all along

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It sure has.

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I had read some about this and it surprised me. I don’t know why except I guess because it was a cool place to shop with great products. We don’t have much shopping in Hood River so I liked going to Trader Joe’s in Portland. No more Trader Joe’s for me now.

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I opened view in browser hoping I could print this from there and and only Karen's comment was ther to leave a comment after. I just went back tothe regular but I'llleave this here. Hi Karen.

I have gotten to know several TJ employees over the 23 years that I have been in Altadena and I talk with one in particular in La Canada, when it looks like he is helping me find something, so he doesn't rouse suspicions. He can't take time to talk at length about the union effort. Anyone looking at the security camera pic would know we weren't talking about where it almond butter is. I'm having trouble printing your post right now. I wanted to slip him a copy.

Where did you find the information you related? I have been having misgivings for a while now and am getting incomfortable shopping there, after being my prefered joint, like you, Tom, since the old one on Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena since 1972.

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News feeds. Just search on "Trader Joe legal case"

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Did I screw something up in the feed?

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No, it does t hat every once in awhile - double posts.

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Got it.

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It’s sad when cool ideas and successful businesses do the dirty to employees. I’d be grateful for a list of businesses that don’t do this. I’m a ceramic artist and ship through Etsy. I started off buying boxes and shipping material from ULINE until I learned that their founder is a right winger. Im looking for a better alternative.

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I agree Susan. I buy some things from Etsy. Are they part of ULINE? I hope not. I like buying from independent artists through them.

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I liked Trader Joe's, but I shop there very infrequently. Now I won't shop there at all. I cringe every time I order something from Amazon. My online orders are generally because I can't find the item locally. There are few, if any, independent bookstores in my small Wilmington, NC, market. Sigh 😔

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Yeah, that's the truth of it.

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Jenn, I think you have at least one fairly close by. My good friend’s sister is the Editor for Going Green, and my friend orders books at a local bookstore for her sister to pick up.

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I'd say the public campaign has just started, at least in a small way. I can, and do, buy books from a local independent store and will cheerfully phase out Amazon as much as I can. Prime will be tough to get rid of as it is programmed in my TV but we'll see. The other two are easy for me because I don't shop at TJ's, and have no use for anything that Musk touches.

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I ditched Amazon Prime and will buy from anyone else I can. Me and X departed before Elon ruined it. But Trader Joe’s. WTH. I thought they were one of the good guys. I think the message is - They all are greedy bastards. Glad I’m downsizing instead of setting up housekeeping. The greed is going to destroy the middle class, or has already. “Greed is good” replaces any thought of the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, or anything besides the only thing that counts “ME”

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We have to face the fact that if Smokin' Joe and the Dems don't stop taking to the fainting couch every time someone says we have to expand the Supreme Court and get rid of the Senate filibuster, we will never get the country we want and deserve, because the other side is determined to take it away from us and the current Democratic leadership does not seem up to the task of defending our rights.

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I’m sure some of our ancestors were rodents but do we still have to behave this way? (The answer might be ‘yes.’)

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If I needed any more evidence that we're on our way to hell in a hand basket . . . Trader Joe's joining the bazillionaire union busters does the job. Maybe not quite as depressing as the Alabama Supreme Court decision that human children are indistinguishable from frozen cell clusters, but it runs a strong second.

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Yes, running across the news of this, and then researching the details, was depressing as hell. TJ's was one of the few stores I actually *like*.

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Me too. I used to shop at its original location. Years later when it finally opened a location in Boise where I now live, there was an above-the fold, full color photo and a huge headline in the Idaho Statesman on opening day. My boss in Seattle thought I was making that up until I showed her.

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Damn. I live in an area almost equidistant to 4 TJ’s (Linda Vista) and I’ve been going to the Arroyo Parkway one since the ‘70s, when Joe Coloumbe first sold cheese and wine. Now where am I going to find yogurt like those nifty little six packs in two flavors?

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Yeah, it's the little things that hurt. I'm going to miss the English Cheddar Pub Cheese.

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Thanks for this heads up. I purchase very little from Amazon. Very sorry to learn that Trader Joe’s is union bashing. Disheartening.

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Makes me think of Marlon Brando & Karl Malden in "On The Waterfront " . I have to drive 3 hours each way to TJ;s now, & I make the trip 1-2 times a year for a supply of belgian chocolate, cheeses, & fill up 2 carts. Amazon only gets my business since so many products / businesses reroute you there to buy their wares. I would also like to know how Muck obtained rights to Tesla's name... it's sacrilege.

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Muck bought Tesla stock and became the largest investor, then took over.

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You are lucky not to have gotten Listeria or E. Coli poisoning from Trader Joe’s . . . Just when I think I’ll check them out, they are in the news with recalls. . .

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Hi Karen, ULINE is definitely not part of Etsy. When I first opened my shop, I used their shipping supplies. Now I’m looking for another and more eco-friendly supplier because I don’t want to support a right -wing business. ULINE won’t miss me since they supply huge businesses, but I would “miss me” if I continued to use them at this point.😊

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I confess to not really understanding the Trader Joe’s appeal; admittedly, I’ve only had a TJ’s in my town for a few years. One thing that keeps me away is their gawdawful parking lot. Now, as a proud 3rd generation Union person, never again.

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It's funny - there is no TJ's I know of that doesn't have a "difficult" parking lot. Thre are two here in the SFV that are in shopping centers, and their part of the parking lot is ALWAYS messed up! Hearing about yours, it seems that must be part of their planning.

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Same in Ft Worth. Thought it was a one off.

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Makes sense.

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I avoid them as well. And this is a reason.

I swear the TJ's scouting team looking for a site purposely looks for storefronts with inadequate parking for the volume of trade.

One near me is literally next to a fucking Costco, that leads to doubly fucked parking

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At least I can get in and out of the fiasco that is Costco parking. TJ's is angled, has conflicting entrances, and no place to park a 1/2 pickup.

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I have gotten to know several TJ employees over the 23 years that I have been in Altadena and I talk with one in particular in La Canada, when it looks like he is helping me find something, so he doesn't rouse suspicions. He can't take time to talk at length about the union effort. Anyone looking at the security camera pic would know we weren't talking about where it almond butter is. I'm having trouble printing your post right now. I wanted to slip him a copy.

Where did you find the information you related? I have been having misgivings for a while now and am getting incomfortable shopping there, after being my prefered joint, like you, Tom, since the old one on Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena since 1972.

Expand full comment