Tartine employees look to unionize, hold rally at 24th Street BART station

SAN FRANCISCO - A large crowd of people gathered in San Francisco at the 24th Street and Mission BART station Thursday evening to support efforts to unionize popular Bay Area bakery chain, Tartine. 

Tartine Bakery workers, along with their supporters held a rally hosted by Democratic Socialists of America - San Francisco and International Longshore and Warehouse Union - Local 6. 

The company has four Bay Area locations-- three are in San Francisco and one in Berkeley. 

Employees are asking the company to recognize them as members of the ILWU. 

"We truly believe with our union supporting them, these workers have enough solidarity to really form, join and vote yes to join the ILWU in 28 to 35 days," said ILWU legislative district representative Christopher Christensen. 

The workers are hoping for higher wages and paid time off. 

San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston tweeted a photo from the rally. He said it was a "massive crowd." In another tweet on the topic, he said: "In an era of attacks on the rights of workers, unionizing efforts like this give so much hope."

There are about 240 workers at the bakery's four locations. Organizers say a large percentage of employees are in favor of unionizing.