By Erwin Seba
BEAUMONT (Reuters) - The United Steelworkers union (USW) won a vote to continue representing workers at an Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) oil refinery in Beaumont, Texas, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board said on Monday.
The vote marks the end of a bitter battle over whether a plant that has had a union since the 1940s would drop it to end a lengthy lockout. The decision to remain in the union comes as non-union companies Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) are facing organizing drives.
The vote by nearly 500 refinery workers was conducted in November and December. Opposition to the union fell short of the 50% plus one vote needed to remove the USW, the NLRB said.
Results are unofficial until certified by the labor board, and both sides have seven days to file objections.
A certification can come only after the NLRB completes an investigation of unfair labor practice charges filed by the USW against Exxon, it has said. No date for this has been set.
Exxon last week asked the NLRB to release the votes in compliance with board rules limiting the time that ballots may be impounded to 60 days.
"Our employees have voted and will continue to be represented by the United Steelworkers," an Exxon spokesperson said.
Workers opposed to USW representation cast 229 of the 487 ballots counted, the NLRB said, 15 short of the number required to remove the union. Nine ballots were not counted because they were late or not properly signed.
"As expected, and despite Exxon Mobil's best efforts to divide the members of USW local 13-243 during more than 10 months of lockout, the NLRB's count of decertification ballots proved the solidarity of the membership remains strong," a statement by USW Local 13-243 officials said.
Union workers were removed from the plant last May after talks failed to yield a new labor agreement. They returned to work this month after ratifying a 6-year contract.
The USW has alleged Exxon's lockout was designed to encourage a removal of the union. Exxon has said the charges are unfounded.
(The story corrects headline to USW union.)