UPDATED: 11/12/22, 2:08 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Employees at a Northeast Philadelphia Home Depot overwhelmingly voted against unionizing.
Their corporate office says they’re happy about the vote, but a worker says he is suspicious of pressure from management that may have swayed some of his coworkers.
More than 100 employees at the Home Depot on Roosevelt Boulevard originally signed a petition to request a vote to unionize. But many of them ended up flipping to the other side.
The final tally was 165 no votes to the 51 yes votes to form a union.
“Whether I like it or not, people resoundingly said no. And you have to respect people's decisions,” said Vincent Quiles, a receiving associate for the store.
“That was the whole point of this, to bring about a conversation where people would have a choice and have an ability to flex their power a little bit.”
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Quiles, who spearheaded the movement, claims corporate management used union-busting tactics in the weeks leading up to the vote.
A complaint was filed through the National Labor Relations Board that included allegations of interrogation and actions like surveillance around the store.
“Anywhere that I went, I wasn't able to talk to people,” said Quiles.
“In the very beginning, there was a lot of energy and support for unionizing. Eventually those fear tactics started to take hold.”
Home Depot spokesperson Sara Gorman told KYW Newsradio, "While we’ve seen a copy of the charge, we don’t have any details. We’ll cooperate with the NLRB’s regional office in Philadelphia in any investigation, and we don’t believe we’ve committed the alleged violations."
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But despite the overwhelming “no” votes, Quiles says he wouldn’t change a thing.
“I felt that the people in my store deserve better, so this was an opportunity to try to do right by them,” said Quiles.
“Even in a loss, there's still some wins.”
A national spotlight was put on the store for the labor movement. Quiles says associates from around the country have reached out to him.
“Don't let the outcome of our election discourage you,” he said. “Instead, build off of the mistakes that people like myself have made, and other failed campaigns. Learn from them.”
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Quiles says he’ll still push for what he hoped being in a union would provide.
“Better wages,” he said. “Pay people the raises that you gave other people. Staff the store properly. And train people properly.”
In a statement, Home Depot officials said they are happy the associates voted to continue to work directly with the company and say they will continue to listen.
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