Three months after workers at a Whole Foods Market store in Philadelphia voted to become the specialty grocery chain’s first group of unionized employees, the retailer is continuing to push back on efforts to certify the results of the election.
The workers voted in late January by a margin of 130-100 to join United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776. In February, Whole Foods asked the National Labor Relations Board to set aside the results, claiming that the union “engaged in conduct which impermissibly interfered with, and therefore deprived, voters of a free and fair election.”
But in a report issued on Thursday, an NLRB hearing officer recommended that the agency overrule all of Whole Foods’ objections to the election, saying they are “without merit.”
Whole Foods “has not established that the Union or its agents engaged in any misconduct that can reasonably be said to have interfered with employees’ free and uncoerced choice in the January 27 election,” the hearing officer wrote.
Whole Foods has until May 15 to file an appeal.
In a statement, UFCW Local 1776 said the NLRB report “affirms that the election was conducted fairly and legally, and that the workers’ voices were clear and unmistakable.” The union called on Whole Foods to set aside its objections to the election and begin bargaining with the union over the terms of a contract.
“These workers want to continue to work for Whole Foods, they want to be treated fairly, and they want the right to bargain for a labor contract, which is their right under the law,” UFCW Local 1776 President Wendell Young IV said in an interview. “Whole Foods is trying to deny them that right.”
Whole Foods said it believes it will ultimately prevail in its drive to overturn the vote, pointing out in a Friday statement that the hearing officer’s report is not final. “This is a preliminary report, not a ruling on the objections we’ve filed, and we remain confident that our objections will ultimately be upheld as the full process plays out,” the company said.
Adding to the acrimony between UFCW Local 1776 and Whole Foods, the union filed charges on April 22 with the NLRB alleging that the retailer wrongfully dismissed workers at the store for engaging in “protected union activities” following the vote. The Amazon-owned grocer’s actions included “interpreting and enforcing shrink and sampling policies in a stricter and discriminatory manner in response to its employees’ union activities” and then retaliating against workers it said violated those policies, according to the complaint.
“They fired a bunch of people, and they’re doing that to send a chill to the other stores that are organizing … as a threatening message to chill those efforts,” Young said. “But it’s not working. It’s only emboldening these workers to dig in harder and work harder to get what they are entitled to, whether Amazon likes it or not.”
Whole Foods said it does not unfairly take action against its workers.
“We do not tolerate retaliation, and we respect our Team Members’ legal rights,” the company said in a statement. “All Team Members must comply with company policies, which are in place in order to prioritize store operations, safety, and customer service. We consistently and fairly enforce these policies, and when they’re violated, Team Members may face consequences up to and including termination.”
