Iowa City Bruegger's Bagels workers won’t unionize

The Bruegger's Bagels location in Iowa City won't become the first in the franchise to unionize after an employee vote earlier this week

In June, workers from two Bruegger's locations in Iowa — one in Iowa City and one in Coralville — filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union, asking for increased base pay and better treatment from management.

In an interview with The Gazette last month, Juniper Hollow, one of the organizers of "Bruegger's Workers United," said workers from the Coralville location were ineligible to vote because the store closed before the union filed with the labor board. On Tuesday, employees at the 708 S. Riverside Dr. location voted 9-2 against forming a union.

A representative of Bruegger's Bagels previously declined to comment to The Gazette about the union petition and the allegations from Bruegger's Workers United.

In an interview, Hollow said the vote was expected. She alleged that during one-on-one meeting with employees, the management "talked about how bad unions are" and disparaged organizers. She said Bruegger's Workers United will continue pursing unfair labor practice claims against the company.

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