Next on the union hit list? Target. The retail giant, like its competitor Walmart, is under pressure to have it’s employees represented by labor. However, after a vote at a New York Target store in Valley Stream, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 failed to convince Target employees to unionize, reports the Associated Press:
Workers at a Target store in New York voted against joining the country’s largest retail union Friday night, but the union said it would press on and broaden its push to represent the company’s workers nationwide.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 also said it would contest the results and ask the federal government to order a new election, alleging that Target illegally intimidated workers. Target denied the union’s allegations.
Both sides said the workers at Target’s Valley Stream store voted 137-85 against unionization. A “yes” vote would have made the store the first of the company’s 1,700 locations to bring in organized labor.
“Target did everything they could to deny these workers a chance at the American Dream,” said Bruce W. Both, president of United and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500, in a statement. “However, the workers’ pursuit of a better life and the ability to house and feed their families is proving more powerful. These workers are not backing down from this fight. They are demanding another election.”
Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said the company acted legally.
“Target absolutely believes we have followed all the policies and procedures that are outlined by the National Labor Relations Board in a completely lawful manner,” Snyder said.
In response to the vote, the union planned to begin a campaign called “Target: Democracy” at the company’s other 26 stores in the New York area and will begin coordinating a nationwide campaign with other union locals in major U.S. cities.
“Today is merely the end of the first round of what will undoubtedly be a 12-round fight for fairness, democracy, justice and change for all Target workers,” Both said.
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