White Plains AutoZone Workers Seek Historic First U.S. Store Union Vote as Company Mounts Heavy Opposition

Eleven employees at an AutoZone store in White Plains, New York, are pursuing what would be the first successful union election at the country's largest auto-parts retailer. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election is scheduled to begin on 25 September 2026, and workers say the company has mounted an aggressive campaign to block the drive.

What Happened

LaborLab, a nonprofit workers' rights watchdog, estimates AutoZone has spent roughly $200,000 opposing the White Plains campaign. That estimate is based on outside legal fees and internal expenses such as executive time, drawn from accounts provided by employees. Eleven workers at the White Plains location are eligible to vote to join United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 259.

Workers' Concerns

Employees cite low pay, limited benefits for part-time staff and pressure to upsell as primary reasons to unionize. Nathan DuCongé, who has worked at the store for about two years, said he began as a minimum-wage sales associate and felt pay did not reflect the workload:

"For a job that essentially pays minimum wage, it makes no sense that you're doing all of this work and expected to upsell certain products too."

David Valencia, who started at the store in May 2026, said he became interested in unionizing after working the Fourth of July without extra holiday pay:

"When I got my paycheck and saw that they didn't pay anything extra when part-time employees leave their families for holidays, that just blew my mind."

Company Response

Workers say AutoZone quickly deployed regional and corporate managers, human resources staff and executives to the store after organizers collected enough authorization cards to file for an election. Employees described private meetings, lengthy presentations discouraging union membership and letters warning about union dues and potential tradeoffs in bargaining.

DuCongé says management challenged his election eligibility by promoting him to a supervisor role, which led the initial petition to be withdrawn in late July and refiled in August. He also provided recordings in which a manager allegedly told him, "we will accept your invitation to fire you," and said store staff were told their social media activity was being monitored. DuCongé shared a screenshot that appears to show AutoZone CEO Phil Daniele's Facebook account viewing a story about the campaign.

Context And History

AutoZone operates more than 6,800 stores in the United States and reported net income of $2.5 billion in fiscal 2025. Historically, the Teamsters attempted to organize an AutoZone distribution center in the early 1990s and lost the vote; the NLRB later ordered a rerun election after finding company misconduct during that campaign.

What Workers Hope To Achieve

Workers say their goals include better compensation, stronger job security and recognition of the value they bring to the company. Valencia said the intensity of AutoZone's response underscored the campaign's potential impact: "Seeing the amount of money, the managers, everybody that they're sending in, it really kind of shows that you can make change at the store."

Next Steps

The NLRB election beginning 25 September 2026 will determine whether the White Plains store joins UAW Local 259. Both sides may continue to file objections and appeals with the NLRB during and after the election process.