Unionised employees at Barnes & Noble flagship store stage walk out over economic concerns

A two-hour walkout was staged at the Barnes & Noble Manhattan Union Square store by unionised employees on 22nd December 2023, Publishers Weekly reported. The employees walked out during the final days of the Christmas rush, citing concerns that the company allegedly negotiated in "bad faith" with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which represents them. 

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 the the Union Square store began negotiations on their first union contract in the autumn and have met with managements on various occasions, including with c.e.o. James Daunt. 

In their first union contract, workers at the store are also seeking to address "continued safety issues amid the rebound of the pandemic, including 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 at work, and favouritism by management". 

"Over the past two months, Barnes & Noble has steadily refused to bargain with us in good faith," said Aaron Lascano, senior bookseller at Barnes & Noble Union Square. "Their proposals get worse every time we meet, they neglected to even begin to address economic issues, and their demands include completely unreasonable asks." 

“The union encouraged a walkout by a small number of employees claiming the company is negotiating in bad faith,” a Barnes & Noble spokesperson said in a statement that was reported in the labour publication Work-Bites. The spokesperson’s statement added: “This is not true. In fact, it is the pot calling the kettle black. The union presented significant economic demands on 29th November, and only one bargaining meeting has been held subsequently. It is a deeply regrettable situation and we look forward to continuing our good-faith discussions with the union in the new year.”