U.S. workers of SoftBank-backed Mapbox form union, seek recognition

(Reuters) - Workers of location data platform Mapbox said on Tuesday they have formed a union to represent all U.S. employees, but the management has not yet responded to their request for a voluntary recognition.

So far, 147 of its eligible 220 U.S. workers have signed cards with the Mapbox Workers Union.

The company, which provides mapping services and a location cloud platform for developers, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The SoftBank Group-backed company and Google Maps-rival has raised about $334 million in funding and has over 500 employees globally.

Its customers include Facebook Inc, Snap Inc, IBM Corp, Lonely Planet, CNN and Instacart.

Workers at technology firms like Google-parent Alphabet Inc and crowdfunding platform Kickstarter have formed unions to grapple with working conditions and business practices of big internet companies.

Meanwhile, e-commerce giant Amazon.com has resisted unionization fiercely.

San Francisco-based Mapbox is in talks with SVF Investment Corp 3 to take it public, according to a report by Sky News in April.

(Reporting by Nilanjana Basu in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Arun Koyyur)