MADISON (WKOW) — Employees of Willy Street Co-op will vote next week on the question of unionization.

In a letter sent to employees Tuesday, Willy Street’s General Manager, Anya Firszt, wrote, “the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) have told us that some of our employees believe a union is necessary.”

Mark Meinster, a representative for UE, said two-thirds of employees with the co-op signed cards supporting the union.

“Ultimately, employees have a voice over policy,” Meinster said. He specifically cited grievances and attendance requirements as areas Willy Street workers would like more of a say.

Employee and long-time co-op customer Thayer Reed said the unionization efforts are an attempt to get the management to return to the values the co-op was founded on.

“When it was a smaller co-op everyone could fit at the table, you could call an impromptu meeting,” she said. “That’s not the case now.”

Reed said she’s helped lead the effort over the past two months in the hopes employee representation could have a seat at the table when it comes to HR decisions, decisions about e-commerce and any decisions about expanding to another location.

“What struck me was joining here, how strong the staff are but that their voices weren’t being heard,” she said.

The unionization vote is scheduled for Sept. 3 and 4, immediately following the Labor Day holiday. The ballot, according to the letter, will be secret. Meinster said the vote would be supervised by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a federal agency which in part conducts elections for workers to decide if they would like to form unions.

In her letter, Firszt posed several open-ended questions. “How much will the union take from your paycheck? How will the work environment change? Can the union deliver on all of its promises?”

Meinster refused to respond to the letter, instead saying, “Ultimately, it won’t be a question of letters . . . it will be about sitting down and working with management.”

UE, according to Meinster, represents three grocery co-ops and several other kinds of cooperatives. The union, despite it’s name, accepts a wide range of industries into its ranks.

“We are not opposed to a union here at the Co-op,” Firszt wrote. “That said, when unions have tried to unionize in the past, they have failed.”

Online NLRB records show Willy Street Co-op workers decided against unionization in 2015. The margin of that vote was 43 in favor of a union and 50 against.

Reed predicts this year’s results will be different.

“There are people who were quite vehemently against last time who now have become some of the leaders in the pro-union camp,” she said.

She attributes that change to the union itself and the way they plan to organize. She said UE is far more democratic than the one workers considered in 2015 and if they chose to unionize, they’ll form their own Local made up entirely of Co-op employees.

Neither Friszt’s letter, nor a statement from the company, addressed how customers would be impacted. Meinster said “You’ll see less turnover, happier employees. That’s better for consumers.”

Don Taylor with UW-Madison’s School for Workers addressed concerns that unionization would lead to higher prices at the Co-op.

“I don’t think we can assume that,” he said. “There are unionized enterprises, unionized businesses in all sectors of the economy that compete successfully with non-unionized competitors.”

In her letter, Firszt asked, “How will all of this impact our cooperative owners?”

“Employees will tell you, owners are really excited about this,” Meinster said.

UE expects to know the results from the union vote by 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The full letter from Firszt is below.