AutoZone workers win UAW vote in New York store, then face immediate firings
Employees at an AutoZone in White Plains, New York, successfully voted to join the United Auto Workers, but two organizers were terminated shortly after the win.
On September 25, staff at an AutoZone in White Plains, New York, voted 6-4 to join United Auto Workers Local 259, marking the chain’s first successful unionization. Shortly after the count, parts-sales manager Nathan DuCongé was fired for alleged supervisory status, a claim he disputes, and David Valencia was dismissed the following morning. Employees cited chronic underpayment, unpredictable scheduling, lack of benefits and aggressive upselling targets as reasons for organizing.
Management responded with heightened surveillance, anti-union meetings and a federal court challenge in Tennessee, while also filing three objections with the National Labor Relations Board. Filmmaker Boots Riley publicly backed the effort, sharing updates on social media. Despite the setbacks, the union intends to leverage the win to support organizing drives at other AutoZone locations.
Why it matters
The case highlights growing labor tensions in retail and the risks union organizers face from corporate retaliation.
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