Mapbox organizers have lost their union election vote

Union organizers at software company Mapbox lost their union election by 123 "no" votes to 81 in favor, marking the end of the formal process to seek recognition from the company.

In mid-June, a group of workers at Mapbox announced they had formed a union with the Communications Workers of America and sought voluntary recognition from management, but the company instead forced workers to put the union to a formal vote in order to achieve recognition from the National Labor Relations Board.

Despite the lack of formal recognition, the group said that it will continue to represent workers to management. "The past seven weeks have been hard. Emotions have run high as we've educated ourselves, had difficult conversations with colleagues, and put our energy into building a better Mapbox — irrespective of our individual votes," the union workers wrote in a statement on Twitter.

The group is the second software-focused union allied with CWA to have recently lost a formal vote; in March, the Medium union fell one vote short of the majority it needed for formal recognition. Tech workers at the New York Times will likely be the next test for the popularity of these unions, as the Times refused to voluntarily recognize that union in April and also asked for a formal vote.