Teamsters Strike Out in Union Vote at Vans Inc. : Labor: Bid to organize 1,400-person force at the Orange shoe factory is defeated, 718 to 473.

Employees at Vans Inc. on Friday rejected a bid by the Teamsters to represent the 1,400-person work force at its shoe factory, according to union officials.

The tally was 718 to 473, and almost all the workers voted, according to Raul Lopez, secretary of Teamsters Local Union 396.

“It was a good voter turnout. This is just the start for union activity in Orange County,” Lopez said. “We are not disappointed. And this will never end.”

Union organizers had spent more than three months trying to persuade the factory workers, mostly Spanish-speaking, to join the Teamsters with talk of increased benefits and higher wages.

Union leaders in Southern California were watching the election as a test of their ability to organize the growing group of immigrant factory workers, who have traditionally resisted unionization.

Vans, the maker of popular canvas shoes based in Orange, fought the unionization effort, saying the company could not pay substantially increased wages and benefits at a time when shoes sales have stalled and profits have eroded.

Craig E. Gosselin, Van’s general counsel, said, “We consider (this) to be a decisive win. We’re very gratified for the support of our employees.”

The central dispute in the Vans election was over workers’ ability to afford company-sponsored health benefits. The average Vans worker, according to the union, makes about $5.75 an hour, and finds it too expensive to make co-payments for the company’s health plan.

Earlier in the week, Gosselin said that the union was using misleading statements to influence its workers and that the company, consequently, was spending money to fight the unionization attempt.

Last week, Lopez said, the union filed charges of unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board, charging that supervisors had told workers the unionization was “a sin,” that God was on the side of the company, and that the plant would close if the effort succeeded.

About 50 workers gathered in the Vans parking lot Friday night, waiting for the vote.

Luis Gonzales, a 30-year-old machine operator, said he was a little disappointed. He said he would go back to work on Monday.

The voting included 180 ballots that the union is challenging and 13 that are void. They are not included in the final tally and thus won’t change the outcome.

In recent years, Vans has struggled to retain market share in the highly competitive casual shoe market. For years, it rarely changed the style of its basic sneakers, a staple for many Southern California teen-age boys.

Last year, the company added new shoe designs and style, prompting domestic sales to increase 19% in the third quarter.