The confusing divorce between two once-affiliated labor unions took another turn today with one of the bitter rivals being chosen to represent the Philadelphia School District's 2,300 cafeteria workers.
The cafeteria workers voted, 1,121-551, to remain with Unite Here, rejecting a bid from the Philadelphia Joint Board, which is affiliated with Workers United, a division of the Service Employees International Union.
The underlying battle is a confusing one, in part because the union names are so similar. The divorce will ultimately be decided in federal court in New York.
It started in 2004, when two unions merged to become Unite Here. The marriage combined a union representing the vestiges of the nation's textile workers with one representing workers in hospitality, a growing field.
The marriage split in early 2009, with the Workers United group pulling out. That left employees and employers around the country confused about representation and negotiation. Both the Workers United and the Unite Here groups claimed to have the allegiance of the workers.
In Atlantic City, it was straightforward. Casino waitresses and bartenders stayed with the hospitality union, which kept the joint name Unite Here.
But in Philadelphia, the situation was confusing, because the former hospitality locals, including the one representing the cafeteria workers, had come under the leadership of the former textile workers' union, the Philadelphia Joint Board, now part of Workers United.
Results from the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board-supervised election mean that the former hospitality union regained control of the cafeteria workers. Stalled contract negotiations with the district can resume.
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