B&H Warehouse Workers Vote to Unionize

Warehouse workers with retail giant B&H Photo Video have voted to unionize and are asking United Steelworkers to represent them in contract negotiations. Last month workers stage protests over alleged dangerous working conditions at the company's two Brooklyn warehouses.

The vote Wednesday, held by the predominately Latino laborers comes after a year of organizing efforts by the Laundry Workers Center, a non-profit labor group.

"After a year of hard work organizing, today the workers are victorious. This is a huge step for the workers’ movement," Rosanna Aran with Laundry Workers Center said in a statement after the vote.

Lawyers with United Steelworkers have filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board claiming B&H managers engaged in anti-union harassment, such as posting anti-union signs and verbally intimidating workers.

Henry Posner is a spokesman for B&H and said the company has always stood behind the worker's right to unionize. "Today’s outcome and our commitment to engage in a respectful dialogue with our employees and their representatives still holds true."

He had no comment about the charges filed with the NLRB.

The company has faced labor disputes in the past. In 2007 B&H settled a discrimination lawsuit and paid warehouse workers $4.3 million. The workers claimed they were paid less than non-Hispanic employees.