(Reuters) – A majority of workers at a flagship Whole Foods store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania voted to unionize on Monday, becoming the first in the Amazon-owned grocery chain to snatch a labor victory.
Workers voted 130-100 for union representation at the Center City in Philadelphia, representing about 57% of the total votes cast, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
Workers at the store had filed to hold a union election in November 2024, the first since Amazon acquired the business for $13.7 billion in 2017.
“We are ready to bring Whole Foods to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair first contract that reflects the workers’ needs and priorities,” Wendell Young IV, President of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, which is a local chapter of the union, said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Whole Foods said it was disappointed by the outcome of this vote, saying they “offer competitive compensation, great benefits, and career advancement opportunities”.
“We are committed to maintaining a positive working environment in our Philly Center City store”, a spokesperson for the company said in an emailed statement.
(Reporting by Chandni Shah and Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
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