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Organizing is a challenge, especially when confronting a national chain. In March the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) announced the ratification of first contracts with bookstore chain Barnes and Noble (B&N). The signatory contract covers three stores in New York City and one in Bloomington, Illinois.
The central B&N Illinois workers affiliated with the national effort, winning a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certification election and then participating in the bargaining, which took over a year.
The local central labor council, the Bloomington & Normal Trades & Labor Assembly (BNTLA), supported the B&N workers and those workers credit that local union solidarity with boosting their spirits.
RWDSU organizer Danie Tarrow said that: “The support we received from the other Union siblings was a major part of the success of our contract campaign in Bloomington. We were a small group, but we were never alone in the fight for a first contract. Members of the Bloomington & Normal Labor Trades & Labor Assembly were always by our side in rain, sleet and snow, for every picket and action taken by our members. We would like to extend our gratitude to every trade union and Matt Strupp from IBEW 197, who made Bloomington a home away from home for us during this process.”
Local 197 opened their union hall for the RWDSU local negotiations with the B&N unionists and demonstrated their full support -- from bringing out 'Scabby the Rat'.
Besides coming out to support the B&N workers, IBEW Local 197 President Matt Strupp shared that, "As a long-established local union, anything we can do to support organizing workers is critical. We were happy to open our hall for the RWDSU negotiations with Barnes & Noble. We attended their rallies, brought out 'Scabby the Rat' to helping workers break through the isolation they may have been feeling.
Throughout the campaign, members from Laborers Local 362, IBEW 197, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, AFSCME and Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 99 joined in support.
In announcing the first contract, the RWDSU noted that workers gained:
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RWDSU Healthcare: union healthcare coverage.
· Safety equipment: Back braces, wrist guards, anti-slip mats for the Cafe area, stools for workers to sit at every information desk and cash register, and on the sales floor, booksellers and baristas will be allowed to sit to get relief when needed.
· Safety language: that protects the workers, including a safety committee, de-escalation trainings, the ability to walk away from unsafe situations without fear of reprisal, and a clear process of banning customers who harass or behave inappropriately towards workers.
· Job Security: if the store closes and relocates elsewhere.
· Pay Security: for store emergency closing situations.
· New Trainings: annual anti-discrimination and other trainings.
It was a long, difficult year of negotiations with compromises on both sides, and workers won in the end. Workers now have stools at the registers, locked in raises and increased rates of pay for positions for three years, and an excellent healthcare package through the RWDSU for booksellers and baristas.
The Barnes & Noble organizing drive demonstrates that a union is the only way to ensure workplace protections are secure – especially now, while laws protecting workers are under attack. The Barnes and Noble unionization effort continues to spread across the country, and workers have shown a fair contract is not only possible, it's well within reach.
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