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The meetings are a common response by companies like Amazon and Starbucks to union drives among workers. The full labor board will make the decision.

The success of an independent drive has organized labor asking whether it should take more of a back seat.

The vote was much closer than another unionization vote taken at the facility last year.

The company has held hundreds of meetings with workers to discourage them from supporting a union in two upcoming elections.

A National Labor Relations Board office said the chain had illegally penalized two Arizona workers, the first such finding in the recent unionization push.

The ballots were counted amid a growing nationwide campaign among the chain’s employees.

The 88-to-14 result at a Manhattan store creates the first union at the prominent outdoor equipment and apparel retailer.

Some employees who back unionization efforts have been told they must increase their work availability or leave. The company cites scheduling issues.

The victory was the union’s first outside Buffalo and appeared to underscore its momentum in organizing company employees across the country.

The move by Tefere Gebre, the No. 3 official at the A.F.L.-C.I.O., highlights what many labor and environmental officials say is a need to cooperate.