Ben & Jerry’s supports Vermont workers’ unionization drive

The nearly 40 workers at the Burlington, Vermont, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop have the support of the New York and Vermont chapter of Workers United, which started the Starbucks unionization campaign in Buffalo, New York. (Associated Press)

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Global ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s said Tuesday it supports a plan to unionize by the workers at a retail shop in the same city where the brand, known as much for its social activism as its products, was founded.

Ben & Jerry’s said, in a statement, it shares “the goal of advancing justice, both inside and outside our company.” The ice cream manufacturer was founded in a former gas station a short distance from its retail shop in downtown Burlington, Vermont.