A “Key Holder” Is Not a Supervisor Under NLRA

June 10, 2026 /

MUJI’s Portland store tried two ways to shrink a union election. The NLRB rejected both.

Per the Region 19 Decision and Direction of Election, MUJI Workers United (affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World — yes, the Wobblies) petitioned to represent a wall-to-wall unit of about 33 employees at the SW 5th Avenue store. The employer pushed back on two fronts.

First, it argued the stockroom “merchandise associates” didn’t share a community of interest with the sales and visual staff, so they should be carved out. The Regional Director disagreed. Everyone is hired and trained as a sales associate first. Everyone gets pulled to the register on a busy “R50” call. Everyone attends the same shift meetings. Retail law presumes a wall-to-wall, single-location unit, and MUJI didn’t come close to rebutting it.

Second — and this is the one employers should study — MUJI argued its “key holders” were statutory supervisors under Section 2(11), which would exclude them from the unit. They earn a $2/hour premium, get a monthly bonus, run closing meetings, build the daily schedule, and open and close the store.

Didn’t matter.

The Regional Director found no evidence a key holder ever actually disciplined, suspended, or discharged anyone. They report misconduct; management pulls the CCTV, investigates, and decides. Their scheduling and task assignments were routine, not the “independent judgment” the Act requires. The pay premium and the title? Secondary indicia — not enough on their own.

To me, this is the recurring trap. Employers love giving a trusted hourly worker a title, a small bump, and “lead” responsibilities — then assume that person is now a supervisor outside the bargaining unit. The Board doesn’t care about the title or the paper. It cares whether real authority is exercised with independent judgment, in practice.

If you want a lead to count as a supervisor, give them genuine authority and let them use it — and document it. Otherwise they’re in the unit, and they’re voting.

Wondering whether your “leads” are actually supervisors? That’s a conversation worth having before the petition shows up — not after.

MUJI U.S.A. Limited, NLRB Region 19, Case 19-RC-384011 (Decision and Direction of Election, 5/21/26)