NYC workers ratify the first Barnes & Noble union contracts in the United States
March 6 (UPI) -- Workers at three New York Barnes & Noble bookstores have ratified their first union contracts.
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union said Thursday these are the first Barnes & Noble stores union contracts in the United States.
"Workers at Barnes & Noble should be incredibly proud of what they've accomplished together in these historic first union contracts. United in their fight for increased safety in their stores, it was their voices among others across our union that won increased protections for everyone in the industry through the Retail Worker Safety Act," RWDSU President Stuart Applebaum said.
According to the RWDSU the union contracts "raised the standard for safety, wages, and healthcare for their newest union members."
Workers at Barnes & Noble's Union Square Flagship, West 82nd Street, and Park Slope New York stores voted to approve the union contracts.
"I'm really excited to have a contract in place and to have a say in the conditions in which I work. To be a part of the first-ever union contract with Barnes & Noble feels like I'm a part of history!" Eve Greenlow, a bookseller at the West 82nd Street store, said in a statement,
The RWDSU said through workers' organizing and solidarity, starting wages increased $4an hour even before the contract goes into effect. Workers are getting an additional pay raise of $1an hour for each year of the three-year contracts.
The workers won union healthcare coverage, seniority and layoff protections, job security provisions in case stores close, a new break room and additional annual anti-discrimination training.
"When we started organizing, we were making minimum wage in unacceptable work conditions," Senior bookseller at the Union Square store Aaron Lascano said in a statement. "The contract we voted on today was fought for and won by the workers of this store. Now, we're looking forward to finally having guaranteed raises, excellent union health care coverage, protections from layoffs and store closure, and so much more."
The RWDSU said while these three New York stores are the first ratified union contracts in the nation, there are a total of seven Barnes & Noble stores that are unionized across the United States.
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