It’s no secret that retail profits rely on the work of the company’s employees. TJX is no exception to this rule. The treatment of employees by the company not only impacts the associates, but the consumer base as well. In fact, disrespect of associates directly impacts the company image and type of customer service the client base receives. Constant use of skeleton crews to fuel the company’s profits ensures that the employees are spread far too thin and leads to distress, but also changes the way that the customers view the overall shopping experience. 

From the view of an associate who has been with the company for almost a decade, it is visible how much of a decline the company has had amidst the CEO reporting record profits. This comes at the cost to the health and well-being of associates, especially those who are responsible for processing shipments in the backroom and those that are expected to put it out while juggling the tasks of 3 other associates due to scheduling errors. 

TJX as a company has had its fair share of OSHA and Labor violations, paying an estimated $14,206,939 in safety related offenses and an estimated $15,430,648 employment related offenses. These figures do not reflect all of the violations under TJX, rather the ones that were reported/caught. This also does not take into account the recent $66,960 fine regarding safety hazards (seems to have not been added to the total based on outdated website). This is while the company pays 10.13/hr on average for starting associates with measly bonuses over time. It is these associates that are working in sometimes unsafe conditions while being unable to meet the standard of living, while the CEO boasts in a recorded office a 5 billion dollar profit (https://www.tjx.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/tjx-fourth-quarter-fiscal-year-2023-earnings-press-release.pdf)

TJX as a parent company is profoundly anti-union. Upon hiring, associates are shown a video titled “The Associate Guide to Labor Unions” wherein the video proceeds to lie about the effects of a labor Union, saying that they needlessly separate upper management from regular employees by taking the conversation out of our hands or that they simply aren’t worth the cost, but it has been time and time again that employees have spoken up to management and been ignored or silenced. Employees who engage in pro-union behavior of course are seen as a target or threat, but in reality all we want are safe labor practices and proper pay. Our CEO profits while we are ignored. 

The time is now to speak up and work together as TJX employees to support each other. The time is now to unionize.