On Jan. 14, veterinary technicians and assistants at Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Services in Brighton voted 65 to 28 to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union.
They are seeking better pay and working conditions and a greater voice in their workplace.
But two months later, they're still waiting for their parent company, Thrive Pet HealthCare, to agree to start contract negotiations.
Thrive says it's not avoiding the process, but trying to open it to more of their employees. A company spokesperson told WXXI News that all eligible employees at their 18 other Rochester-area practices (15 veterinary clinics, a rehabilitation facility, a laboratory, and a crematorium) should be allowed to vote on the question of union representation.
"We feel like it's just a delay tactic," said VSES employee Sam Estes, a member of the union's negotiating committee.
He said there are no grounds for all of the company's local workers to have a say, based on their different job functions and skills.
A regional branch of the National Labor Relations Board agreed with Estes in December. But now Thrive is appealing the decision to a 5-member NLRB labor board in Washington, D.C.
If they rule against the VSES employees on this, Estes said they'd be back at square one in their efforts to unionize.
"You need 30 percent of the employees to file a petition (to join a union)," he said, "and we wouldn't have the 30 percent, so our petition would be thrown out."...
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