An effort to unionize the downtown Portland Muji store failed to win a majority June 5: 14 workers voted to join the Portland branch of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and 16 voted no.
Muji is a Japanese retailer selling well-designed clothing, stationery, and home goods. It has 10 stores in New York and two in Massachussetts, but the Portland store is its only West Coast location.
Union supporters said they were motivated to organize in hopes they could increase wages.
A leader of the union campaign said IWW plans to challenge the vote result on the grounds that Muji committed unfair labor practices (like threatening layoffs and suggesting that workers might miss out on raises) and that those influenced the election result.
