After a card-check today, Ben & Jerry's has voluntarily recognized the unionization of workers at its Burlington, VT Scoop Shop. They're the first corporate-owned shop of the chain to do so.
Talks of unionization at the store apparently began last summer in response to two overdoses at the store—workers had neither Narcan nor the training to handle these situations and several workers quit over them. These details were profiled in a Restaurant Dive piece last month. Comparatively low pay was another factor: workers are paid $14/hr, but that's only one dollar above minimum wage in Vermont.
The 39 workers at the store—all of whom reportedly signed union cards—then went public with their intent to unionize earlier this year on April 17, 2023, at which point things moved quickly. Their union received support from around the area up to and including Senator Bernie Sanders, who urged the corporation to agree to the union's demands. Approximately a week later, Ben & Jerry's signed the union's Fair Election Principles—it is likely they are the first multinational corporation to do so. That document included a provision to voluntarily recognize the union via card-check, which Ben & Jerry's decided to take here.
Congratulations!