The victory was a difficult battle for the independent team, made up of former and current workers who had no official support from an established union and were wiped out by the deep-pocketed retail giant. Despite the obstacles, the organizers believed that their bottom-up approach was more employee-friendly and could help them overcome where established unions had failed in the past. They were right. “I hope everyone is watching now because a lot of people have challenged us,” he said. “We are disappointed with the outcome of the Staten Island election because we believe that a direct relationship with the company is the best for our employees,” the post said. “We are evaluating our choices, including objecting to the inappropriate and unwarranted influence of the NLRB that we and others (including the National Retail Federation and the US Chamber of Commerce) saw in this election.” The union campaigns come at a time of widespread labor unrest in many companies. Employees at more than 140 Starbucks locations across the country, for example, have called for union elections, and several of them have already succeeded. “The president was delighted to see workers ensure that their voices are heard in relation to important decisions in the workplace,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday. “He firmly believes that every employee in every state should have a free and fair choice to join a union and the right to negotiate collectively with his employer.” John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University, said the union victory was a possible turning point for two years in a pandemic that has shifted the work landscape. He added that the ALU victory defies the traditional notion that only national unions can take over large companies. But the team may have another battle ahead, according to Erin Hutton, a sociology professor at Buffalo University in New York. Both labor struggles faced unique challenges. Alabama, for example, is a labor rights state that prohibits a company and a union from signing a contract that requires employees to pay contributions to the union that represents them. The union landscape in Alabama is also completely different from New York. Last year, union members accounted for 22.2 percent of New York’s salaried and salaried employees, just behind Hawaii, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is more than double the national average of 10.3%. In Alabama, it is 5.9%. Ross Harrison, who voted for the organization on Staten Island, hoped the club could improve things at work, but was unsure of its biggest impact. But others were not so festive. Tinea Greenaway voted against the union, but said there would be a further crisis for now. “We can not take back our votes,” he said. “I will give things a chance, but let’s see if they keep their promise.” —- Associated Press staffer Mae Anderson in New York contributed to this report.
