Tony’s Fresh Market Workers Vote Against Joining Union
The majority of grocery workers at 21 Tony’s Fresh Markets throughout Chicago recently voted against joining Local 881 United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).
When the ballots were counted in late March, the workers had voted 1,115-605 against unionization, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
The election was among the largest held in the American private sector so far this year, as reported by The Chicago Tribune. Had the Tony’s workers voted to unionize, their bargaining unit would have numbered around 2,000.
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Local 881 blames the voting outcome on Tony’s management, whom the union is accusing of engaging in an anti-union campaign of fear, lies and intimidation that unlawfully interfered with workers’ rights to a fair election.
However, according to The Chicago Tribune, Tony’s maintained that it has followed the law, saying that the vote “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."
Among other actions, Local 881 said that it filed and processed unfair-labor-practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board.
Local 881 UFCW is the union for Jewel and Mariano’s grocery workers, as well as thousands of others throughout Illinois. It’s among the largest affiliates of Washington D.C.-based UFCW International Union, which represents 1.3 million members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Founded in 1979 by two Italian immigrants, Tony’s has grown to become a leading Chicago-based grocery retailer with 21 stores. Tony's is owned by Heritage Grocers Group (HGG). Based in Ontario, Calif., HGG operates in six states – California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Kansas and Illinois – with stores under the Cardenas Markets, El Rancho Supermercado, Tony’s Fresh Market and Los Altos Ranch Market banners.
