Exclusive | Sprawling beauty store in Santa Monica in turmoil after workers reject union

A bitter union battle has erupted at a Santa Monica Sephora after workers voted against organizing – only for the union to challenge the result and leave the store in limbo for months.Employees at the sprawling 6,750-square-foot beauty store on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade told the California Post they’ve been harassed and bullied by officials with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 after rejecting the union – with workers claiming the bitter standoff has fueled a staff exodus and cost employees hours and benefits.“They’re just stuck waiting and have this union that again purports to represent workers, but is doing the opposite of it here,” said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which is providing informal legal help to the frustrated workers.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story Last year, pro-union employees began floating the idea of unionizing the makeup store, workers told The Post.UFCW Local 770 represents workers across grocery, retail, health care and other industries.Around November, a union representative came into the store and handed a manager papers and documents, said Sandra Wael, 24, who leads a team at the Sephora.On Dec.2, a petition seeking an election for employees to decide whether to unionize was filed with the National Labor Relations Board.In the month leading up to the election, Wael said she and others were bombarded by UFCW with “lies” and “harassment.”“They kept texting me, texting me nonstop, texting other girls, making fun of the work we were doing,” Wael said.

“I told them I’m not interested, and I don’t want them texting me anymore.They still texted me, telling me I should be scared, telling me that my manager was lying to me, tel...