Workers at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant at Wallula, Wash. threw out the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1439 after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) counted votes last week.

In the election held Nov. 18, 686 production and maintenance workers voted to decertify the union and 129 voted to retain it, according to the NLRB. After a seven-day waiting period, plant employees will negotiate their own employment terms.

The workers at the Wallula plant voted to be represented by UFCW Local 1439 in 2009. This current vote marks the second time workers have contested the union’s presence. In Nov. 2010, workers voted to retain the union. UFCW Local 1439 mainly represents workers at Safeway, Albertsons, Fred Meyer and other grocery brands in the Pacific northwest and Northern Idaho.

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