Dive Brief:
- Workers for Chicago-area grocery chain Tony’s Fresh Market have voted not to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
- The election saw 1,115 workers vote against becoming part of the union and 605 cast ballots in favor of joining the labor group.
- Organizers had sought to convince workers to unionize in response to what UFCW Local 881 described as “disturbing management practices” by Tony’s leadership.
Dive Insight:
The election, which took place last week, followed claims by the union that Tony’s Fresh Market treats workers unfairly through practices such as doling out raises inequitably, denying bereavement leave and using “fear and intimidation” to control workers.
UFCW Local 881 also said ahead of the voting that efforts by workers to convince employees to support unionization spurred Tony’s to harass employees through tactics such as pressuring them not to vote in the election.
In a statement issued after the election, UFCW 881 said the workers’ decision not to to join the union stemmed from Tony’s “anti-union campaign of fear, lies and intimidation that unlawfully interfered with the workers’ rights to a fair election,” adding that it plans to file unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB.
“While today’s results were not what hundreds of workers wanted, Local 881 will continue to help them fight for a fair and safe workplace and will stand with them for as long as it takes to win the dignity and justice they deserve,” Local 881 President Steven Powell said in a Friday statement.
Tony’s Fresh Market, however, hailed the election as a sign that its management and rank-and-file workers get along well.
“The decision by Tony’s Fresh Market team members at our stores in Chicago to vote against union representation reflects the strong relationships we’ve built with our employees and our ongoing commitment to fostering a workplace where they can thrive – with competitive wages, strong benefits packages, professional growth opportunities, and direct and open communication,” a spokesperson for the chain said in a statement.
Tony’s, which became part of Heritage Grocers Group in 2022, said it offers “highly competitive wages in line with industry standards” and provides all of its associates with vacation benefits. Tony’s has nearly two dozen stores in the Chicago region.
“We appreciate the trust our team members place in us, and we are dedicated to continuing to serve the communities in which we operate and making Tony’s Fresh Market a great place to work through collaboration with our team members,” the spokesperson added.
No employees lost their jobs as a result of their efforts to push for unionization, according to the company. The company added that it “complies with all applicable labor laws and regulations across its stores.”
The decision by Tony’s workers not to join UFCW Local 881 follows a January vote by employees at a Whole Foods Market store in Philadelphia to join another UFCW local, a move that made the store the first unionized location in the Amazon-owned chain. Whole Foods objected to the vote and asked the NLRB to “set aside” the election results because of what it claimed were efforts by the union to interfere with the voting process.
