Dec. 10, 2007 — Kentucky Fried Chicken workers at three St. Croix locations have turned down a bid by Our Virgin Islands Labor Union to represent them.
Workers at restaurants in Frederiksted, Orange Grove and Sunny Isle on Friday voted 28 to 5 against the union.
"I'm very pleased with the results of the election, and that the workers are giving Kazi Foods, the franchise owner, a chance to show its commitment to its employees," said Juan Mujica, vice president of operations for Kazi operations in the Virgin Islands, according to a news release issued Monday.
The strong vote against the union indicates the employees understood there was no assurance of increased benefits if they joined the union, said Ravi Nagi, a St. Thomas attorney who represents Kazi. Additionally, he said, they knew it would cost them money to join.
The contract was up in March, so workers had been employed without a contract since then, Nagi said.
"I don't think any progress had been made on the contract," he said.
The Kentucky Fried Chicken workers had been represented by the V.I. Workers Union. Initially, the Workers Union and Our Virgin Islands vied to represent the workers, but the Workers Union dropped out of the race.
Workers asked Our Virgin Islands to represent them, said Ricky Brown, the union's president.
"They didn't know they had union representation," Brown said.
Charlesworth Nicholas, who heads the Workers Union, was out of the office Monday and could not be reached for comment.
Brown said he respects the vote of the Kentucky Fried Chicken workers, but noted that most of them are young, will soon move on to other jobs and do not fully understand what unions can do for them.
Paying dues was an issue, he said.
"If you're not making any money in the first place, any amount seems like a lot," he said, referring to the low wages earned by fast-food workers.
Brown said 58 people were eligible to vote. His union has until Friday to challenge the results, but so far he hasn't seen any reason to do so.
Our Virgin Islands formed in 1999. It represents Triangle Construction workers employed at Hovensa and workers at St. Thomas Health Care Management. The union represents more than 800 workers, Brown said.
Kazi is the second-largest operator of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in the world. It operates Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut restaurants in the Virgin Islands.
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