David Valencia

“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,”

David Valencia · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-18

Valencia said the company's heavy response to the union drive shows that workers can make change at the store.

“When I got my paycheck and saw that they didn’t pay anything extra when part-time employees leave their families for holidays and sacrifice the time that they have with their families to come to work, you don’t get anything extra, any recognition, and that just blew my mind,”

David Valencia · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-18

Valencia described being surprised at receiving no holiday pay or bonus after working on the Fourth of July.

“Our goal is to get compensation, job security, just more things that closely reflect the value that we know that we bring to the company. We’re not getting close to what we’re worth,”

David Valencia · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-18

Valencia stated the unionization goal is to secure compensation and job security reflecting workers' value to the company.

“You can make change within the company because the fact that you’re unionizing it and you’ve got this kind of a response is actually a good thing. It means that you really are out there changing things, and I believe that if we can do it, and hopefully we do win, then everybody else can too.”

David Valencia · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-18

Valencia concluded that if workers at the White Plains store win their union election, it could inspire other AutoZone workers to organize.

“There is no bargaining when you’re alone. They’re only going to bargain when you’re together. So we don’t have a choice. Either we’re going to live in poverty and not be able to pay our bills, or we’re going to do this.”

David Valencia · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-18

Valencia argued that workers must unionize collectively to have bargaining power against the company.