A group of Instacart employees at a Skokie, Ill., Mariano's have become the first at the online grocery delivery company to unionize.
The part-time employees, who fulfill the grocery orders picked up by delivery drivers, voted Saturday to be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1546, according to a news release from the union, which represents 18,000 grocery, packing house and nursing workers in the area.
The union election affects only the 15 in-store shoppers assigned to the Skokie Mariano's, said Instacart, which is based in San Francisco. The company said it will honor the outcome of the election, pending its certification by the National Labor Relations Board, and will negotiate in good faith on an initial collective bargaining agreement.
"We will always support employee freedom and choice, and we respect our employees' rights to explore unionization," said a statement from the company.
Instacart employs over 12,000 in-store shoppers who pick, pack and stage groceries at dedicated grocery stores. It also works with more than 130,000 independent contractors who deliver groceries as well as pick and pack. Delivery drivers were not included in the union election.
The union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company for years has angered some workers who say tweaks to the payment model have resulted in pay cuts, prompting them to boycott low-paying orders and attempt to organize the loose network of independent contractors.
Instacart has grown fast as more U.S. consumers shop for groceries online. The value of the online grocery market more than doubled from $12 billion in 2016 to $26 billion in 2018. About 10% of U.S. consumers say they buy groceries online regularly.
