(MENAFN) A group of around 40 employees at the Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop in Burlington, Vermont, where the company was founded, have announced their intention to form a union. The workers, who refer to themselves as "scoopers," have formed an organizing committee and have submitted a petition to the National Labor Relations Board for an election. They claim to have the support of the upstate New York & Vermont chapter of Workers United, the same union that spearheaded the Starbucks unionization campaign in Buffalo, New York.

In a statement, the group said that they have come to embody the values of Ben & Jerry's slogan, "peace, love, and ice cream," and that forming a union is a sign of respect for the company. Rebeka Mendelsohn, a shift manager and catering lead, emphasized the importance of the company's commitment to social justice rights and equity, and expressed her hope that this message would be translated to all levels of employment.

Ben & Jerry's, which is now owned by consumer goods giant Unilever, has acknowledged the unionization effort, stating that the organizers presented their plan to the company on Sunday night. A Ben & Jerry's spokesperson, Sean Greenwood, affirmed that the issue is important to the company, and that they are actively working on it.

This unionization effort is not the first at Ben & Jerry's. In 2019, the company's factory workers in St. Albans, Vermont, successfully unionized with the United Steelworkers union. The move towards unionization among the scoopers in Burlington represents a growing trend towards labor organizing and collective bargaining in the service industry.

MENAFN18042023000045014146ID1106035629