Barnes & Noble Workers with Bookstore Workers & Labor Groups Outside Flagship NYC Store to Demand Company Reach Union Contract by End of 2024 as Holiday Shopping Season Begins

On Thursday, workers at Barnes & Noble unionized stores in New York City organized with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), rallied with fellow New York City unionized bookstore workers including workers from McNally Jackson represented by RWDSU Local 1102, the Strand in Union Square who are members of UAW 2179, and Barnes & Noble workers from Hadley, Massachusetts, who are members of UFCW 1459, to demand the company reach a contract by the end of 2024. As the holiday shopping season gets underway, workers were joined by unionized bookstore workers to raise industry standards for all. They were also joined by the NYC CLC, union members from across the city, labor allies, advocacy and community groups, and concerned shoppers.

The company’s refusal to pay a fair wage has thus far prevented the union from settling the first union contracts and getting union benefits, healthcare, and protection from store closure and relocation. (Note: the company has refused a master agreement even in single cities like New York where the union represents multiple stores.) As the largest brick and mortar corporate book retailer, what Barnes & Noble workers win in this contract will impact everyone in the industry. Participants at the rally were united in their demands for fair standards for everyone.

Following the rally, a delegation of workers delivered boxes of letters of support from the public to Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt at the corporate headquarters (also located at the Union Square store address) and at his apartment nearby. Participants also marched in Union Square and fliered to demand fair standards across the industry. Read more here!