13-03-2025
Workers at community-owned grocery store in the South Wedge move to unionize
Workers at Abundance Co-op, a community-owned grocery store in Rochester's South Wedge neighborhood, announced this week that they are unionizing—marking the first union effort in the co-op's history.
Abundance Co-op specializes in local, organic, and sustainable products, serving the community with a focus on ethical and environmentally friendly goods.
At Abundance Co-op, everyday consumers own shares in the business, its products are sourced from local growers, and shoppers prioritize natural and organic foods.
'We appreciate our work at Abundance, and we believe that with a union, we can build the structures we need to make the store better,' said Ben Fetterolf, a produce team member. 'We want to make the improvements we know will help realize the store's potential as a benefit to the community and workers.'
Some of the proposed improvements include better communication between workers and management, stronger advocacy for internal concerns, and protections against unfair disciplinary action.
Since going public with their campaign, workers have contacted Abundance Co-op management, hoping they will agree to a fair election process and uphold the co-op's democratic values: self-help, self-respect, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity.
'Having a union at a consumer co-op is just common sense,' said Bailey Stevens, a front-end team member. 'The union is to the workers what the shareholders are to the customers. Everyone with a stake in the co-op deserves representation.'
Workers filed for a union election on March 11.
Abundance Co-op management has yet to respond to the union. When asked by D&C reporters, they declined to comment on the workers' unionization efforts.
Bailey Stevens said the new union's effort is about keeping its culture and "keeping the ability to serve and put our community and customers first."
—As a Rochester native, Justice Marbury entered the world of journalism to create work where voices like hers were heard—the voices of minority communities. Marbury covers small businesses, neighborhood concerns, and the interesting people who live in Rochester's 19th Ward. As the 19th Ward reporter, she has helped implement community outreach ideas by asking what people in various communities want to read about themselves in addition to regular news. Contact her on Instagram @justice_marbury and by email at jmarbury@
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Abundance Co-op workers in Rochester NY move to unionize
