The vote for unionizing, which took place on Friday, was 21 to 4, the union said.

“It’s a sign of how much we love this place,” said Lena Solow, who said she had worked at Babeland for three years. “We want it to be the best place it can be.”

Babeland sells a variety of sex toys, accessories and books, and the workers proudly consider themselves sex educators. But that also makes them a target for invasive questions and even harassment, they said.

“People don’t go into the Gap and ask what shirt fits you best,” added Phoenix Casino, who has worked at Babeland for two years.

The employees have advocated better training and support from management to deal with problematic customers. They had pushed for caller ID, for example, to help weed out the threatening phone calls workers said they received on a daily basis. Two of the three stores now have caller ID, Babeland said.