Chipotle restaurant in Michigan votes to unionize, in a first for the chain

A Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Lansing, Michigan, turned the chain’s first location to vote to unionize.

Staff on the retailer voted 11 to a few in favor of unionizing underneath the Worldwide Brotherhood of Teamsters, in accordance with the tally performed on Thursday.

“We’re disillusioned that the staff at our Lansing, MI restaurant selected to have a 3rd social gathering converse on their behalf as a result of we proceed to consider that working straight collectively is finest for our staff,” Chipotle spokesperson Laurie Schalow stated in an announcement to CNBC.

Chipotle has 5 enterprise days to file objections to the election. If Chipotle opts to not file any objections, the Nationwide Labor Relations Board regional director will certify the outcomes, and the corporate is required to start out bargaining in good religion with the union.

“Chipotle pulled in income of $7.5 billion final 12 months, and simply as we’re seeing employees of all ages and backgrounds throughout the nation tackle these company giants, it is so inspiring to see Chipotle employees get up and demand extra from an organization that may clearly afford it,” Scott Quenneville, president of Native 243, stated in an announcement. “The Teamsters have these employees’ backs. They are going to have a union they are often pleased with, that is aware of get issues executed.”

The Lansing location was the second-ever Chipotle restaurant to file a petition with the NLRB to unionize.

In late June, a Chipotle restaurant in Augusta, Maine, turned the chain’s first outlet to file for a union election, in search of to prepare underneath Chipotle United, which isn’t affiliated with any bigger unions. The corporate completely shuttered the placement after the petition was filed, citing staffing issues. Chipotle United has filed a criticism with the NLRB, claiming that the transfer was retaliatory.

The win for Chipotle organizers in Michigan comes on the heels of greater than 200 Starbucks cafes within the U.S. voting to unionize within the final 10 months. Regardless of latest high-profile efforts, unions are a rarity within the restaurant business. Only one.2% of employees at meals and ingesting retailers had been members of unions final 12 months, which is properly beneath the private-sector unionization fee of 6.1%, in accordance with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.