Case closed: Blue Star Donuts remains nonunion.
The independent grassroots union Doughnut Workers United lost a Jan. 18 mail ballot by 8-13, but 7 other ballots had been challenged by the employer, and the union asked the National Labor Relations Board to count those votes and possibly reverse the election results.
In a May 30 decision, NLRB Regional Director Ronald Hooks rejected the union’s appeal, saying several of those ballots were cast by workers who no longer worked at Blue Star, and that the union had provided no evidence to support its claim the workers were “forced to resign.” As to union claims that bad weather prevented workers from hand-delivering ballots on time, Hooks said the union didn’t identify any witnesses, instead stating “[INSERT NAMES]” in its legal filing.
