Whole Foods store in Philadelphia votes to unionize

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Workers at Philadelphia's Center City Whole Foods store voted to unionize, becoming the first local store in the chain owned by Amazon to formally organize under the United Food and Commercial Workers.

It was a close vote Monday, 130-100, with three members of Congress sending a letter to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel warning them not to interfere with the voting.

"This fight is far from over, but today's victory is an important step forward," the Whole Food local UFCW President Wendell Young IV said. "We are ready to bring Whole Foods to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair first contract that reflects the workers' needs and priorities."

A union spokesperson said the Philadelphia store has about 300 employees. The union said staffers are hoping to negotiate higher salaries, improved scheduling, and workload that does not lead to burnout.

While Amazon has a unionized warehouse in Staten Island, N.Y., efforts to organize other warehouses have been unsuccessful. In Staten Island, Amazon has refused to bargain with the union.

Whole Foods said it already offers "competitive compensation, great benefits, and career advancement opportunities" for workers and it was "disappointed" by the vote to unionize.

"We are committed to maintaining a positive working environment in our Philly Center City store," the company said.

The UFCW said, though, that Whole Foods tried to pressure workers with an "aggressive anti-union campaign," which led it to file unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board before the vote.