Workers at Spot Coffee on East Avenue voted to form a union this week.

There is a seven-day period for any objections to be raised before the union is certified.

If the union is certified, Spot will be one of few Rochester food service establishments to ever have one.

Employees at East Avenue’s Spot Coffee voted to unionize this week, making the longtime Rochester shop one of the only local food and drink establishments to do so.

Employees voted to form a union with the Rochester Regional Joint Board of Workers United. They formed a committee in April and demanded the shop’s management abide by a set of “non-interference” principles, which lay the groundwork for a mutually-beneficial union arrangement, if employees vote to unionize.

“Our hope is that you will respect the fact that Spot workers want to be more involved in our work lives,” workers stated in a letter to Spot’s president and CEO Anton Ayoub.

“The right to organize a union is a fundamental human and civil right,” said Gary Bonadonna, Jr., Manager of Workers United for upstate New York. “We are pleased that Spot workers have exercised this right and we need to extend this right to all workers in our city and our state.”

Any party may file objections to the formation of a union within seven days of the vote count, according to the National Labor Relations Board. If none are raised in that time frame, the union is certified as the exclusive bargaining agent for employees at that establishment.

"We respect the decision of our employees at SPoT Coffee Rochester to join a union," said Ayoub in an email Friday. "We hope to conclude a contract with the Union that will not only be beneficial to our employees and the Company, but also one that will promote our commitment to serve the community."

A group of employees approached the Rochester Regional Joint Board about forming a union, said Spot employee Cory Johnson. He eventually took part in the organizational committee, along with employees Maggie Gelen and McKena Stickney.

"People were very open to it," he said, saying they faced no roadblocks from the shop's management.

Every employee hopes to be treated fairly at their workplace, said Stickney in a news release.

“Everyone wants rights no matter where you work,” she said. “We all know what it feels like to want respect and be treated well at work and have the freedom to be yourself.”

Spot is one of few local food service establishments that have voted to unionize or formed a union.

Workers at Roncone’s restaurant, which closed last week, unionized in 2006 under Unite Here, a union that represents 270,000 workers across the U.S. and Canada in fields like food service, hospitality and airport service. Employees at Pier 45 at the Port of Rochester also formed a union at one point, said Bonadonna, but that restaurant has since closed.

STADDEO@Gannett.com