PORTLAND, Maine — Across the country, a movement for businesses to unionize is growing momentum. We're even seeing it here in Maine with Chipotle and Starbucks employees voting to form a union, only for those shops to close down.
Now, an independent Vietnamese business in Portland shows unionizing can be done.
Cong Tu Bot has become the first independent restaurant in Maine to unionize in 40 years.
"This felt like an opportunity for us to codify and protect the things that we love about working here," Cora Kircher, a Cong Tu Bot employee, said.
The relationship between employees and owners has been positive, she said, but workers saw a chance to set a precedent.
Kircher and all of her fellow co-workers voted unanimously to join the union.
Rachel Kobasa, a server, said unionizing has been "very exciting."
"It’s something that’s been in the works at Cong Tu Bot for longer than I've been working here," Kobasa told NEWS CENTER Maine. "Management and the owners have been incredibly supportive and excited about the idea of the power being in the hands of the workers."
The owners have not only recognized the union but even encouraged it.
"I’m always looking for ways to distribute the power that I have informally, but also, formally," owner Vien Dobui said. "What better way formally than actually encouraging our staff to organize."
Andy O'Brien, communication director of Maine AFL-CIO, said Dobui's support is "rare," which is "unfortunate."
"All this means is that workers have a collective voice in the workplace and they’re allowed to do this under federal law," O'Brien said. "Restaurant workers, particularly during the pandemic has, sort of, realized the value of their labor."
Cong Tu Bot employees hope by forming a union sends a message to everyone in the restaurant industry.
"There’s so much potential for us to make this industry a more sustainable, a more just place, and I’m really excited about the potential there," Kircher said.