Employees at a Lowe’s Cos. store in New Orleans have petitioned to unionize the location, extending an unusual wave of organizing in the U.S. retail sector.
A labor group called Lowe’s Workers United filed a petition Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to unionize a group of around 172 staff, according to the agency’s docket. Lowe’s didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry.
Like the organizations behind several other recent prominent campaigns, Lowe’s Workers United is an independent group run by employees, rather than an affiliate of an existing U.S. union. Felix Allen, the Lowe’s employee who filed the petition, said he and his coworkers have been talking about organizing since April. He said they were inspired by recent racial justice protests, as well as union victories at companies such as Amazon.com Inc.
