Iowa City Bruegger’s employees vote against establishing bagel chain’s first union

Employees at an Iowa City Bruegger’s location voted against unionization on Tuesday, ending an effort that would have established the first worker’s union at the nationwide bagel franchise.

Workers voted against unionization at the 708 S. Riverside Drive Bruegger’s location during the morning and afternoon on Tuesday. All employees who were on the payroll as of June 18 were eligible to vote in the election. Vote totals were not immediately available.

Bruegger’s Workers United shared a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, about 45 minutes after the voting period came to an end.

“I’m saddened to say that the hard workers of Bruegger’s Bagels on Riverside in Iowa City voted against a union,” the group wrote. “This is not the end of BWU. Bruegger’s has made a mockery of justice with their relentless union-busting tactics, and we will not rest til they are held accountable.”

Union organizer Juniper Hollis was not immediately available for comment.

The vote against unionization comes less than three weeks after the National Labor Relations Board ruled in favor of workers and cleared the way for a vote to be held. The board ruled that Bruegger’s employees had “clearly” met the qualifications to attempt to become a “labor organization.”

From June: Iowa City Bruegger’s Bagels employees get clearance to hold chain’s first union vote

NLRB Regional Director Jennifer Hadsall, who delivered the ruling, shrugged off the bagel brand’s arguments against establishing the labor organization, writing that employees seem to have multiple fronts on which they want to engage Bruegger’s leadership, including “wages, workplace respect and paid time off.”

The downtown Iowa City Bruegger’s location was not part of these bargaining efforts.

Picketing, labor board ruling preceded vote

A small group of employees gathered outside of the 708 S. Riverside Drive location on June 15, demanding recognition of “Bruegger’s Workers United,” the unionization effort with a similar moniker to the successful downtown Iowa City Starbucks unionization effort conducted last spring.

Hollis is a former Bruegger’s employee at the recently closed Coralville location. Employees alleged that the closure, which came shortly after employees first publicly announced their intention to unionize, was in response to union action. Bruegger’s previously declined the Press-Citizen’s request for comment.

From June: Workers at Iowa City, Coralville Bruegger’s Bagels sites picket over unionization attempt

The closure and other actions prompted the workers to petition the NLRB for unfair labor practices. Hadsall wrote in the board’s June 21 ruling that the labor organization is in its beginning stages.

According to the board’s ruling, there is no official union constitution, dues have not yet been collected, and there is no official meeting space. Hollis’ apartment hosted the two meetings prior to the delivery of the board ruling.

“While the Petitioner is not yet fully fledged, the record establishes sufficient evidence to establish labor organization status under the Board’s liberal standards,” Hadsall wrote.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.