Lululemon Staff Abandon Bid for Unionization Vote This Month

Lululemon Athletica Inc. employees have withdrawn their petition to unionize a store in Washington, D.C., marking a setback for the recent wave of organizing at previously union-free US retail firms.

Workers had been slated to vote Aug. 26 and 27 on whether to unionize with the Association of Concerted Educators, an independent labor group founded and run by Lululemon employees. The National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday approved the group’s request to withdraw its election petition, according to the agency’s docket.

Under NLRB rules, when a union backs out of a planned election, the group generally has to wait at ...