Workers at the Woodstock New Seasons Market store voted to go non-union in a 33-33 vote tallied Aug. 20.
The store at 4500 SE Woodstock Blvd., Portland, had been the third location of the upscale grocer to join New Seasons Labor Union (NSLU) when workers unionized in December 2022.
NSLU co-chair Norah Rivera said the decertification effort was led by workers who were unsatisfied with the slow progress of contract negotiations. Contract negotiations began in January 2023, but more than two-and-a-half years later, workers still don’t have a first contract. New Seasons and the union have made progress in bargaining, but still haven’t come to agreement over wages, paid time off, and management rights, Rivera said.
Rivera blamed company tactics for the decertification. New Seasons raised wages for non-union workers but refused to offer the same raises to unionized workers unless the union agreed to the company’s contract offer, Rivera said.
Even though the vote was a tie, the outcome is no more union. In both decertification and initial unionization elections, the National Labor Relations Board only certifies a union if more than half of voters cast their ballots in support.
NSLU continues to represent more than 1,000 workers across 10 locations, and Rivera said the union isn’t worried about decertification efforts starting at other stores.
“It’s definitely something that we’re keeping an eye out for, but at this time, we’re looking pretty solid,” Rivera said. “It just comes down to the individual store cultures.”
NSLU formed as an independent union but last month members voted to affiliate with 23,000-member United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE). It’s the first unit in the Pacific Northwest for UE, which is concentrated in New England and the Midwest.
