The workers at the Brunswick Staples have rejected a bid to form a union.
The workers voted against the union 7-6 on Wednesday, according to The Times Record.
A dozen Staples workers filed a petition on June 27, 2023, to unionize the store at Cook’s Corner.
Since then, some workers quit or were fired, whittling down the original petitioners to five, The Times Record reported. That includes one worker who alleges Staples fired them because they were a “strong union supporter.” Staples has alleged time card fraud.
Had the bid succeeded, it would have been the first Staples location in the country to unionize.
Since 2021, union drives have succeeded at the Orono Town Office, Biddeford Starbucks, Portland Museum of Art, Maine Medical Center and Bangor Daily News.
Despite those wins, efforts have petered out or failed at the Chipotle in Augusta, Little Dog Coffee Shop in Brunswick, Shalom House in Portland, the Starbucks on Middle Street in Portland and Bates College in Lewiston.
