Posts tagged Barnes & Noble
More Workers Are Filing For — and Winning – Union Elections Than in Any Year in the Past Decade
September 12, 2024 // A surge in union activity since the COVID-19 lockdown shows no signs of stopping, though it’s still not enough to reverse the two-decade downward trend in union membership in New York and across the nation.
Barnes & Noble workers plan union drive at largest US bookstore chain
April 1, 2024 // In a statement, Daunt disputed claims of delays at the negotiating table. He claimed he was in agreement with workers on “the fundamentals” of their demands – but warned of “potential upsides and downsides” to a union. Barnes & Noble has some 600 stores across the US, and Daunt – who became CEO in 2019 – has worked to turn around the business, which had spent years in decline. It is owned by the investment giant Elliott Management, which also owns Britain’s Waterstones, which is also run by Daunt. “Our purpose for unionizing is to get some recognition for the dignity of workers,” said Sepple. “And having sat at the table and currently in negotiations with Barnes & Noble, it is disappointing that Barnes & Noble has not treated this as if that dignity is deserved.”
Unionised employees at Barnes & Noble flagship store stage walk out over economic concerns
January 4, 2024 // According to the union, the employees were protesting "the company’s failure to return on economic portions of the contract amid their highest sales season". They were joined by other union and community members, who supported their walkout "demanding the company bargain in good faith". The majority (97%) of workers at the flagship store voted to join the union on 7th June 2023, and there are now five unionised Barnes & Noble stores across the US, as well as one Barnes & Noble College Booksellers store.
Workers at Barnes & Noble in Manhattan’s Union Square vote to unionize, continuing trend
June 8, 2023 // The Union Square employees are now part of the the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which also represents workers at McNally Jackson, Greenlight Bookstore and other independents. In an announcement Wednesday, the RWDSU cited issues at the Union Square store ranging from workplace harassment to “unstable scheduling practices” and “favoritism by management.”
Barnes & Noble employees unionize in Hadley
June 1, 2023 // The vote by the 18 booksellers and baristas at the store came following more than a month of employee-led pubic organizing activities, including a public reading of the employees' letter to the company on April 17 and a recent rally involving others in the labor movement. The store is the second in the 785-store chain to vote to unionize. A decision to pursue unionization came after the successful efforts by Trader Joe's United at that store at Hampshire Mall, and the employees of the Rutgers University Barnes & Noble Education store.
Rutgers Barnes & Noble Workers Vote To Join Retail, Wholesale And Department Store Union
May 16, 2023 // uilding upon last week’s win by workers at REI in Chicago with RWDSU, today’s win also comes amid a longstanding streak of wins by the RWDSU at independent booksellers in the New York area, including McNally Jackson, Goods for the Study, Greenlight Bookstore and Book Culture, as well as the union election petition of workers at Barnes & Noble’s flagship Union Square, New York store. Workers at the Rutgers Barnes & Noble have reportedly faced safety issues amid the rebound of the pandemic; workplace harassment; substandard pay for the industry below that of independent booksellers; unstable scheduling practices; a lack of structure when it comes to job duties and tasks, and favoritism by management. These are issues the workers are looking to address at their first contract negotiations.
New York: Workers at Union Square Barnes & Noble push for unionization
May 1, 2023 // Employees at the Union Square store filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board on Friday, hoping to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. RWDSU also represents other booksellers in New York City such as McNally Jackson and Greenlight Bookstore. According to workers, the petition came hours after management at Barnes & Noble chose not to voluntarily recognize the union. A Barnes & Noble spokesperson declined to comment. . “We’re stretched thin, and with a union we’d win the pay, needed benefits and long-overdue training and safety resources we need to attract more co-workers and adequately staff the store so our customers have a safer and better experience shopping with us,” said Desiree Nelson, a lead bookseller at the Union Square store.
Barnes & Noble Education Workers Seek to Unionize, Extending Organizing Wave
April 10, 2023 // Workers say they’ve signed up most of the roughly 70 employees at the store on Rutgers University’s campus. After announcing their organizing campaign to local management, they plan to submit a filing Thursday asking the US National Labor Relations Board to conduct a unionization election. Employees are petitioning to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which currently represents retail workers at Macy’s Inc., H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB and, most recently, Recreational Equipment Inc., where it first secured a foothold last year in New York City. Barnes & Noble Education didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company, which retailer Barnes & Noble Inc. spun off in 2015, operates 785 physical bookstores for students and hundreds of online bookstores. It also has exclusive deals with schools and universities to distribute course materials.