“This ruling is definitive — Whole Foods lost, the workers won, and it’s time for the company to respect the results,” Wendell Young IV, president of UFCW Local 1776, said in a statement. “Whole Foods told the public it would respect the outcome of the vote. Now that their legal challenges have failed, they must keep that promise.”

Whole Foods Market, in a statement, said the hearing officer’s report is only “preliminary,” and is “not a ruling.”

“We remain confident that our objections will ultimately be upheld as the full process plays out,” the company statement said.

A majority of workers at the 2101 Pennsylvania Ave. store voted in January to unionize with UFCW Local 1776, 130 to 100. Since the election, UFCW has alleged, workers who supported the union have been unfairly fired.

In February, Whole Foods filed five objections to the January election, arguing the results should be set aside.

A hearing officer wrote last week that “All of the objections are without merit,” according to a report viewed by The Inquirer. The report recommends that the objections be overruled and that the union certification be issued by the regional director.

Whole Foods, in its objections, alleged that the union promised that employees would get a 30% raise if they voted in favor of the union and offered transportation to and from the store on voting day, among other alleged issues.

The NLRB hearing took place over two days and included testimony from 10 witnesses, according to a statement from theunion.

“There’s no more hiding behind lawyers. The workers have spoken. It’s time to bargain,” said Young.

If a regional director for the NLRB goes along with the report recommendations, Whole Foods could appeal the case, but the NLRB does not have quorum to issue rulings, given that President Donald Trump fired a Democratic member earlier this year. The board needs three members at minimum to be able to function, according to federal law.