CHICAGO — Workers at Tony’s Fresh Market, the Chicago grocery chain sold to private equity three years ago, voted overwhelmingly against forming a union this week.

Workers at 21 Tony’s locations throughout the city and suburbs cast their votes in grocery store break rooms and pricing offices Tuesday through Thursday. When the ballots were counted Friday, the workers had voted 1,115-605 against unionization, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Voter turnout was about 94%.

The vote is a crushing loss for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881, the grocery workers’ union that had sought to represent the Tony’s employees. The union already represents thousands of Jewel-Osco and Mariano’s workers throughout the Chicago area. In the lead-up to the election, the union accused Tony’s of using illegal anti-union tactics to discourage “yes” votes, which the company denies.

The election was among the largest held in the American private sector so far this year: had the Tony’s workers voted to unionize, their bargaining unit would have numbered around 2,000, according to labor board records.

The union had estimated the size of the company at around 2,400 employees in initial filings with the agency; the labor board ultimately determined that 1,995 workers were eligible to vote. The parties agreed ahead of time that some managers would be permitted to vote but that their ballots would be challenged and their eligibility resolved afterward, according to agency records. About 160 such ballots were cast in the election, nowhere near enough to affect the results.

Before the election, pro-union workers said they hoped forming a union could help them secure higher wages and better benefits, such as more affordable health insurance.

In a statement after the election, Tony’s said the vote “reflects the strong relationships we’ve built with our employees and our ongoing commitment to fostering a workplace where they can thrive – with competitive wages, strong benefits packages, professional growth opportunities, and direct and open communication.”

“We appreciate the trust our team members place in us, and we are dedicated to continuing to serve the communities in which we operate and making Tony’s Fresh Market a great place to work through collaboration with our team members,” the company said.

UFCW did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.

Ahead of the election, UFCW accused Tony’s of interrogating workers about their union loyalties, firing a pro-union worker and telling employees that the union would check their immigration documents.

“The workers have reported being pulled into one-on-one meetings, being questioned if they are working with the union, and being unlawfully told not to vote in the upcoming election,” the union said in a pre-eledction news release.

The union filed charges alleging violations of federal labor law with the NLRB. Those charges remain open, according to agency records.

Tony’s has pushed back on the allegations, saying the company follows the law and that it had not fired any workers because of their organizing efforts.

“Tony’s Fresh Market values its team members and respects their right to consider union representation, and any claims suggesting otherwise are false,” the company said in a statement prior to the election.

Parties have five business days following the election to file any objections. If no objections are filed, the labor board will certify the election results.

Tony’s was founded by Italian immigrants in Logan Square in 1979. In 2022, the company was acquired by funds managed by affiliates of private equity giant Apollo Global Management.

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