Santa Monica Sephora staff fight union attempts to nullify vote

A bitter union battle has erupted at a Santa Monica Sephora after workers voted against organizing — only for the union to challenge the result and leave the store in limbo for months.

Employees at the sprawling 6,750-square-foot beauty store on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade told The California Post they’ve been harassed and bullied by officials with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 after rejecting the union — with workers claiming the bitter standoff has fueled a staff exodus and cost employees 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 providing informal legal help to the frustrated workers.

Last year, pro-union employees began floating the idea of unionizing the makeup store, workers told The Post.

UFCW Local 770 represents workers across grocery, retail, healthcare and other industries.

Around November, a union representative came into the store and handed a manager papers and documents, said Sandra Wael, 24, who leads a team at the Sephora location.

On Dec. 2, a petition seeking an election for employees to decide whether to unionize was filed with the National Labor Relations Board.

In the month leading up to the election, Wael said she and others were bombarded by UFCW with “lies” and “harassment.”

“They kept texting me, texting me nonstop, texting other girls, making fun of the work we were doing,” Wael said. “I told them I’m not interested, and I don’t want them texting me anymore. They still texted me, telling me I should be scared, telling me that my manager was lying to me, telling me stuff that’s not true.”

Wael said union representatives would also mock team activities employees put together. She said she felt the union simply wanted to collect fees from them.

Another worker, licensed beauty advisor Leslie Lopez-Santiago, 27, said she didn’t personally receive communications from the union but was dead-set on opposing the unionization drive after a similar bad experience at a previous job.

She said she heard from co-workers that the union offered “false promises,” such as better benefits if they joined.

Workers said a majority of the 25 employees rejected unionization in an election held between Jan. 7 and Jan. 10, with 14 voting “no.”

But on Jan. 17, UFCW Local 770 filed objections to the election, according to the NLRB’s case docket.

Workers who voted “no” were furious.

“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 grounds for the union’s election objections are not disclosed on the NLRB’s public docket.

Semmens said workers fear the challenge could ultimately result in another election.

A request for comment and further details sent by The Post through UFCW Local 770’s media inquiry form was not returned.

In a pre-election text message viewed by The California Post, a union representative claimed Sephora wanted to “intimidate you, pressure you and persuade you to vote no” by refusing 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.”

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