Press Releases
UNFI Workers in South Carolina Join Teamsters
Drivers Choose Representation with Local 509, Prepare for First Contract Negotiations
Press Contact: Lena Melentijevic Phone: (347) 208-2279 Email: LMelentijevic@teamster.org
(RICHBURG, S.C.) – More than 50 drivers at UNFI in Richburg, South Carolina, have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 509 for better wages, stronger benefits, and improved working conditions. The victory is the latest in a wave of Teamsters organizing wins at the nation’s largest distributor for Amazon-owned Whole Foods.
“When the workplace turns toxic, you have to set boundaries and lines need to be drawn that management can’t cross. A Teamsters contract allows us to draw that line,” said Brian Rackley, a driver at UNFI and a new member of Local 509. “We’re looking forward to negotiating a strong first agreement that protects our rights at work and protects us with the wages and benefits that we have rightfully earned.”
Since 2022, more than 3,000 UNFI workers nationwide have joined the Teamsters. Across the country, over 5,000 workers are now Teamsters.
“It’s an honor to welcome these drivers into Local 509. Now we will get to work at the bargaining table to negotiate a strong first Teamsters contract that brings their wages, benefits, and working conditions in line with what other Teamsters at UNFI have already achieved,” said Brian Clardy, President of Local 509.
Drivers in South Carolina are the latest to join a growing movement across the company. In May, nearly 100 drivers in Texas voted to join Teamsters Local 745, and in April, drivers in Wisconsin voted by a two-to-one margin to join Teamsters Local 200. These victories build on strong first contracts recently ratified by more than 1,000 UNFI Teamsters in Florida, Georgia, and Illinois, which secured $8 hourly raises, comprehensive Teamsters health care, a defined benefit pension plan, strong seniority rights, and additional paid time off.
“In every corner of the country, UNFI workers are standing together with the Teamsters because they’ve seen what we’ve accomplished at the bargaining table,” said Tom Erickson, Director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division. “This momentum will continue. We will keep building power and density at UNFI until every worker has the union contract that they deserve.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on X @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.