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Berkeley Bowl workers and union organizers rallied outside the store Monday, joined by community supporters, elected officials and labor legend Dolores Huerta as part of the last push before Thursday’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) vote on unionizing the store. 

“Long live the union. Si se puede,” said United Farm Workers cofounder Huerta to a crowd of over a 100 supporters carrying balloons and sporting “I support Berkeley Bowl workers” buttons.  

Organizers said the rally was called to generate support and help workers regain confidence after encountering fierce opposition in recent weeks from management.  

Jeremy Plague, an organizer from the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Butcher’s Union Local 120, the union working with the employees, said management has employed classical anti-union strategies, including “captive audience” meetings where employees are called into closed door meetings and lectured about management’s position on the union. Employees have also complained that department managers have surreptitiously told workers to vote no, which, if true, would be a violation on national labor law. 

“This rally is a way for the community to get the word out to the owners that they support what the workers are doing,” said Plague. “It’s a way for the community to tell them that they should stop union busting.”  

Controversy has also surrounded the issue of just who will be eligible to vote, Plague said. Under national labor law, only employees can vote. But Plague charged that the Berkeley Bowl has been blurring job definitions, enabling several people who organizers understood to be management to vote as workers. 

During Monday’s rally managers stood outside the store, handing customers a letter from store owners Glenn and Diane Yasuda that explained their opposition to the union. When questioned, management refused to comment about any of the proceedings. 

Pro-union workers involved in the organizing drive say they are still confident they will win, dismissing the impact of an anti-union campaign that they said they knew was coming. 

“The anti-union campaign has been disappointing and distressing,” said Irami Osei-Frimpong. “But after we win, we can all sit down and negotiate a contract and everyone can come to work knowing that they were heard and are being treated fairly.”  

As a way to boost the morale of workers worried about the vote, several supporters headed into the store after the initial rally to offer encouragement. Organizers many workers are scared because there have been threats from management saying that if the union were to pass, layoffs might follow.  

“We need to tell the employees not to be afraid,” said Huerta, the first to enter the store. “We’re behind you. Don’t be afraid. You can win,” she told employees. 

Plague said most of the layoff threats have been directed at the produce and deli departments.  

“The rumors are that if the union wins that the deli will close down because they won’t have enough money,” said Plague. “But everybody knows that’s wrong.”  

“They also said the produce department will have to lay people off. But the store is the produce department. People don’t go there for macaroni and cheese. We warned workers that they were going to do this.” 

The vote will be conducted by the NLRB throughout the day Thursday, and the result should be known that evening. One worker representative and one management representative will also be present at the voting area to ensure accuracy. 

If the union wins, workers along with union representatives and Berkeley Bowl management will enter into a bargaining session to draw up the terms that will define the union contract. Workers are hopeful that negotiations will go quickly, allowing the store to return to normal. Should the union lose, workers can’t hold another election until Oct. 30, 2004.