A contentious union dispute is keeping a Santa Monica Sephora in uncertainty months after employees voted against organizing — a decision United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 has challenged.
Workers at the 6,750-square-foot beauty retailer on the Third Street Promenade told the California Post that UFCW officials harassed and pressured them after the vote. They say the ongoing fight has contributed to employees leaving, while remaining staff have lost hours and benefits.
“They’re just stuck waiting and have this union that again purports to represent workers, but is doing the opposite of it here,” said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which is offering the employees informal legal assistance.
The push to organize the makeup retailer began taking shape last year, when some employees started discussing the possibility of unionization, workers said.
UFCW Local 770 represents employees in several sectors, including grocery stores, retail, health care and other industries.
Around November, a union organizer visited the store and gave a manager a packet of paperwork, according to Sandra Wael, 24, who supervises a team at the Sephora.
On Dec. 2, a petition was submitted to the National Labor Relations Board asking for an election on whether the employees should unionize.
Wael said that in the weeks before the vote, she and other workers were subjected to what she described as repeated “lies” and harassment from UFCW representatives.
“They kept texting me, texting me nonstop, texting other girls, making fun of the work we were doing,” Wael said. After she told them she was not interested and asked them to stop, she said the messages continued, warning her to be afraid and claiming her manager was misleading her.
Wael also accused union representatives of ridiculing activities organized by employees. She said the experience left her believing the union’s main goal was to collect dues.
Leslie Lopez-Santiago, 27, a licensed beauty adviser at the store, said she was not contacted directly by the union. Still, she strongly opposed the campaign because of what she described as a negative experience with a union at a previous workplace.
Lopez-Santiago said co-workers told her the union had made “false promises,” including assurances that employees would receive improved benefits if they voted to join.
The election took place from Jan. 7 through Jan. 10. Workers said 14 of the store’s 25 employees voted against unionization, giving the opposition a majority.
Despite the result, UFCW Local 770 filed formal objections on Jan. 17, according to the National Labor Relations Board’s case docket.
Employees who had voted against organizing said they were angered by the union’s challenge.
“I didn’t understand why we would have a second vote when the majority had already ruled,” Lopez-Santiago said. “I thought this was bulls–t.”
The public NLRB docket does not specify the reasons behind the union’s objections to the election.
Semmens said the employees are concerned that the challenge could lead to a new vote.
CONTINUE READING: Shark Attacks Kayaker Off Malibu as Dramatic Video Surfaces
The Post submitted a request for comment and additional information through UFCW Local 770’s media inquiry form, but the union did not respond.
In a text message sent before the election and reviewed by the California Post, a union representative accused Sephora of trying to “intimidate you, pressure you and persuade you to vote no” by declining to voluntarily recognize the union.
Sephora told The Post it “respects our employees’ right to make their own decision through a fair election process” and respects the outcome of the vote.
Addressing the union’s challenge, the company added: “We will continue to respect that process and remain committed to supporting our employees, listening to their feedback, and maintaining an environment where everyone is supported and heard.”
Lopez-Santiago disputed claims that the company tried to sway workers’ votes, saying management and corporate officials deliberately remained neutral in their interactions about the union.
“We were all well aware of it. We all talked about it months ahead, and we all talked about it in depth, and everyone was already comfortable with their own decisions,” she said, claiming it felt like the union was attempting a power grab.
Now, the workers are waiting for the National Labor Relations Board to make a decision. The case remains open nearly nine months after the union filed its objections.
Workers say the limbo has taken a real toll.
Tensions have emerged between pro- and anti-union camps, while multiple colleagues have quit the small team to escape the drama, shrinking the workforce to about a dozen, employees said.
It’s “just causing chaos and separation between the team, which is something that’s not okay because we are one of the stores where, whenever we get people coming in to support us, they always say our store feels like home,” Wael said.
To make matters worse, Wael said managers have been unable to expand the team — only replace workers who leave — while employees have complained about being understaffed.
Lopez-Santiago said the dispute even delayed her getting workplace benefits she had been looking forward to.
Sephora had moved late last year to change its “flex” staffing model at some stores, with Lopez-Santiago hoping to transition to a part-time position eligible for additional benefits.
Lopez-Santiago’s transition from “flex” was put on indefinite hold because of the union dispute. Last month, she finally decided to reapply for a part-time role to get the benefits.
Ultimately, workers are growing tired of the wait.
During the summer, they sent a petition to UFCW Local 770 demanding that the union withdraw its election objections, accusing it of refusing to listen to the employees it wanted to represent, according to an image of the letter viewed by The Post.
“They won’t respect our decisions, and the team is getting smaller and smaller and smaller,” Wael said. “A lot of people have left because they’re just tired.”