The NLRB election process is awful in allowing a giant delay where management can work against unionization over an extended period. This approach of saying "We are already a local union in this store" without an NLRB formal procedure followed would, in effect, reform the bulky restrictions NLRB places upon organization will among workers.
Also without having to turn to the bureaucracy of existing nationwide unions to institute a different working-things-out possibility where workers have a collective voice without heavier baggage.
In Seattle - two news outlets covering the story are here and here, where readers are encouraged to research the situation further, if interested.
Where this story goes, and ends, might be worth following. Where it could go, if cooler heads on both sides prevail is worth thought. They could start something different, and possibly better than NLRB-related polarizations taking hold.
The effort on the other hand could go nowhere fast. It is worth following.