UNFI workers in Sarasota, Fla., vote to unionize

About 280 United Natural Foods Inc. warehouse workers in Sarasota, Fla., voted to join a union last Thursday.

Teamsters Local 79 based in Tampa will represent the workers. The Teamsters represent 1.3 million workers in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.

The union said it was anxious to secure a contract for the workers. Meanwhile, UNFI, based in Providence, R.I., said it was ready to negotiate.

“UNFI offers competitive pay and benefits and safe working conditions to all associates,” UNFI said in an emailed statement to Supermarket News. “Where our associates are represented, UNFI maintains constructive relationships with those unions, and we bargain in good faith to reach agreements that are fair to both sides.

“In these agreements, we address wages and benefits, other terms and conditions of employment, and the need for operating flexibility to satisfy customer demands regarding the delivery of our products.”

The move comes after two Sarasota workers were retaliated against for being union supporters, according to the Teamsters, which plans on filing an unfair labor practice charge.

UNFI has been involved in labor issues over the last few months.

In early October, the wholesale distributor laid off 277 billing, invoice, and payroll personnel in Phoenix. UNFI said the move was part of a “new strategy focused on creating shared value and more efficiently serving our retailer and supplier partners.”

The National Labor Relations Board rejected UNFI’s plan to outsource trucker jobs to non-union employer J.B. Hunt in Florida in April.

A few weeks later, about 80 UNFI truckers in Sarasota unanimously voted to join Teamsters Local 79, and truck drivers in Pompano Beach joined Teamsters Local 769 over concerns about wages, benefits, and working conditions.

UNFI’s transportation department at a distribution center Harrisburg, Pa., closed in June, eliminating 87 positions.