FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, March 10, 2025
CONTACT: Chelsea Connor | cconnor@rwdsu.org | 347-866-6259
ILLINOIS BARNES & NOBLE WORKERS WIN 1ST UNION CONTRACT JOINING NYC STORES IN HISTORIC WIN
Contract Includes Major Safety Wins, Added Trainings & RWDSU Health Coverage
(BLOOMINGTON, IL) – Today, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) announced the ratification of a first union contract at the Bloomington, Illinois Barnes & Noble store. The union, which also represents three New York City Barnes & Noble Inc. stores, including the flagship in Union Square, Manhattan, raised the standard for safety, wages, and healthcare for their newest union members across the board. This announcement comes just days after the union announced the historic ratification of first union contracts for any Barnes & Noble workers in the nation at the three New York City stores, which collectively covered over 200 workers.
In addition to increased wages and the added general protections a union contract provides, workers at the Barnes & Noble’s Bloomington, Illinois store have secured the following in their new three-year agreement:
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.
Barnes & Noble locations with ratified contracts:
Bloomington, Illinois Store: 1701 E Empire St, Bloomington, IL 61704
West 82nd Street, New York Store: 2289 Broadway, New York, NY 10024
Park Slope, Brooklyn Store: 267 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Union Square Flagship, New York Store: 33 E 17th St, New York, NY 10003
“It’s been a long difficult year of negotiations and while we had to make a lot of compromises on both sides, in the end our first contract is a win for our booksellers and baristas. We 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 our booksellers and baristas that we are very excited about. We hope we’ve paved the way for other stores now that several locations in the country have reached a contract agreement with Barnes & Noble,” said Zane Crockett (He/Him), Lead Bookseller at the Bloomington, Illinois Barnes & Noble store.
“Workers at Barnes & Noble should be incredibly proud of what they’ve accomplished together in these historic first union contracts from Illinois to New York. United in their fight for increased safety in their stores, it was their voices across the table that won. Now, we can finally say their longtime safety needs are codified in union contracts, which also include industry standard setting wage increases, union healthcare, and more. 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 this month have shown a fair contract is not only possible, it's well within reach,” said Stuart Appelbaum (He/Him), President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
The contracts are individual to each store and have some slight specifications to each store. The votes to ratify the contracts were conducted onsite in four separate votes on the following dates:
Bloomington, Illinois: March 8, 2025
West 82nd Street, New York Store: March 5, 2025
Park Slope, Brooklyn Store: March 4, 2025
Union Square Flagship Store: March 3, 2025
Workers voted overwhelmingly to be represented by the RWDSU in NLRB conducted elections at each store on the following dates:
West 82nd Street, New York Store: March 14, 2024
Bloomington, Illinois: November 20, 2023
Park Slope, Brooklyn Store: June 29, 2023
Union Square Flagship Store: June 7, 2023
Over the past year, organizing has spread like wildfire and there are now seven unionized Barnes & Noble Inc. locations across the country, and those numbers are growing. Workers at Barnes & Nobles stores nationwide face continued safety issues, including workplace harassment, in addition to substandard pay, unstable scheduling practices, a lack of structure when it comes to job duties and tasks at work, and favoritism by management – all issues addressed in these first union contracts.
The RWDSU also represents workers across the bookstore industry including workers at McNally Jackson and Goods for the Study, Greenlight Bookstore and Yours Truly, Brooklyn, and Book Culture, all members of RWDSU Local 1102. In New York City specifically, with our fellow union members at the Strand who are members of UAW 2179, together we represent about 40% of locations of the major corporate and independent chain bookstores in the city.
During the holiday shopping season, bookstore workers across New York City rallied together to raise industry standards. Workers at the Strand and McNally Jackson were also able to reach strong contracts banding together with Barnes & Noble workers in recent months.
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Barnes & Noble Inc. workers are organized at seven stores across the United States to date. For more information, please visit our website at www.barnesandnobleunion.org or follow us on Instagram or Twitter.
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) represents 100,000 members throughout the United States. The RWDSU is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). For more information, please visit our website at www.rwdsu.org, Facebook:/RWDSU.UFCW Twitter:@RWDSU.