From Publishing Perspectives:
On Thursday (December 12) in the United States, the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) announced that some 90 workers of five stores in New York City have voted to become union members. Three of the retail sites are bookstores, two are stationery shops.
The McNally Jackson Independent Booksellers stores are located in Manhattan on Prince Street and Fulton Street, and in Brooklyn on North 4th Street, and the company is effectively a small and independent group of chain stores. The company also has two stationery stores called Goods for the Study in Manhattan, one on Mulberry Street, and one on West 8th Street.
. . . .
A list of workplace issues provided by the union in its media messaging includes the following, apparently composed by the workers:
- “We deserve respect at work: Workers should not be subject to verbal abuse from owners or managers in any workplace.
- “We want a safe work environment free from harassment with strong policies in place to protect us: In the past, workers have faced harassment and have found a lack of a voice for a way to address these incidents. We need clearer guidelines and policies to address these serious issues.
- “We need to be properly compensated for our input and dedication to McNally Jackson: We need better wages. The Tipped Minimum Wage is not enough for barista workers and fluctuating take-home pay leads to financial stress. Workers sometimes have their pay cut if moved into a different position with no notice. We should be paid in a timely manner. We should be paid overtime pay for overtime work as per New York State Law.
- “We need better structures in our workplace: Too often things are done informally, and roles are not always clearly defined. Clearer guidelines about things like how we access our benefits, transfer between stores, etc. are needed.
- “Favoritism is a problem at our workplace: We need more defined positions at work. There should be standard pay scales for certain positions at our store.”
The union, in its announcement, has included a comment from McNally Jackson workers Kathryn Harper, who works in the Brooklyn bookstore. Harper is quoted, saying, “I’m proud to say I’m now part of the RWDSU. Workers across all five stores face issues of harassment at work, favoritism, and lack of dignity and respect.
“By coming together, we are stronger, and I am confident we can shape our workplace into a place we all want to come to work each day. It’s about time McNally Jackson workers had a real seat at the table with the company and we’re ready to get to work on our first contract,”
. . . .
In a Tuesday report (December 10) at Patch, Sydney Pereira writes that the McNally Jackson workers, in voting for union membership, “join a slew of other independent bookstores that have also organized, such as New York City’s iconic Strand Bookstore, Portland’s Powell’s Books and Austin’s Book People, according to the Department for Professional Employees. Nearby McNally Jackson’s headquarters, museum workers at the Tenement Museum and the New Museum voted to unionize this year.”
Link to the rest at Publishing Perspectives
Disrespect, harassment, favoritism – PG wonders what the store’s customers think about this.
You get what you pay for: employees who really know their stuff used to direct you to books because they had read them, loved them, and hand-sold them.
Minimum wage employees don’t always have this gift. They can find a book for you in the online database, and direct you to the right shelf (assuming the book is in-store), but seem bemused when asked for recommendations.
PG wonders what the store’s customers think about this.
They don’t.
If you are a minimum wage employee who hears “Independent bookstores are doing great!” you might just get it in your head that they should spread some of that money around. Of course then they have to switch gears and tell everyone that they don’t actually make very much money. Hard to have it both ways.
It would be very interesting if the employees struck and picketed. If you are a New York liberal, do you cross a picket line to support your neighborhood bookstore?