-By Warner Todd Huston
Boy is this one embarrassing for two unions in one shot. Both the Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers union got cremated in a vote by workers pondering representation. Turns out the employees of FreshDirect, a New York City grocery corporation, turned down BOTH of the unions by a vote of 80% against the unions!
The UFC reports the following:
NEW YORK — FreshDirect workers voted against joining a union, but the United Food and Commercial Workers will renew its push to organize the online grocer in the new year, according to reports. Employees of the company, based here, had been courted by both UFCW Local 348S and Teamsters Local 805, but 80% of the 530 warehouse workers who voted over the weekend chose not to organize with either union, the reports said. The vote came shortly after the company asked workers to provide proof of citizenship, saying the grocer was the subject of an investigation by federal immigration officials. Neither the unions nor FreshDirect could be reached for comment yesterday.
Notice, however, that the UFCW could care less about the rejection and have no intention of leaving these workers alone even when they were rejected by a massive percentage of them. No might mean no to some people… but never to a union thug.
As LaborPains.org quips:
It’s not a proud moment when you have to admit 80 percent of the voting public reject you. In politics, it’s a landslide. For today’s organized labor, it’s another day at the office.
Right on!