(NEW YORK CITY) – By an overwhelming vote of 97%, Workers employed at Barnes & Noble’s Flagship Union Square store have voted to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).

This builds upon last month’s unanimous wins by Workers at Barnes & Noble College Booksellers at Rutgers University with RWDSU and by Barnes & Noble workers in Hadley, Massachusetts with United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1459.

The organizing victory also comes amid a long-standing streak of wins by the RWDSU at Independent Booksellers in the New York area, including McNally Jackson, Goods for the Study, Greenlight Bookstore and Book Culture - as well as the Union Election Petition of Workers at Barnes & Noble’s Park Slope Store in Brooklyn.

The vote to Unionize Workers at Barnes & Noble Flagship Union Square store was conducted by an in-person secret ballot vote on-site at the store on June 7th (2023), which was overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The RWDSU will now represent more than 100 Workers employed at the store in contract negotiations, which will commence this year.

The Workers in the Bargaining Units include Booksellers, Baristas, Cashiers, and all Non-Supervisory Employees at the store.

Workers at the store face continued safety issues amid the rebound of the Coronavirus 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 favoritism by management.

Issues they’re looking to address in their first contract negotiations.

“I am so proud of my Co-Workers and excited to move forward as a Unionized Bookstore and a member of RWDSU.  We still have work ahead of ourselves, but we have shown how dedicated we are to improving our store for ourselves and each other.  We are ready to create a better workplace and a better future for Barnes and Noble Employees,” said Jessica Sepple, 28, a Senior Bookseller at the Barnes & Noble Flagship Union Square store. 

RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum said: “Together, with their colleagues in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and just across the water in Brooklyn, Barnes & Noble Workers in Union Square have sent a message all across the Nation - the Bookstore Industry can and must treat Workers with dignity and respect.  Workers at this store not only organized and won their ‘Union Voice,’ but they did so with management literally above their heads in the corporate headquarters, which is housed just above the store in the same building.  In doing so, they set an example for Barnes and Noble Workers across the country of the change that is possible in the industry.  We are incredibly proud to welcome the Workers at Barnes and Noble’s Flagship Union Square Store into the RWDSU.”

The RWDSU, which is affiliated with the UFCW, represents 100,000 Members throughout the U.S., including 45,000 in New York State.

To Directly Access This Labor News Report, Go To: BARNES & NOBLE WORKERS AT THE FLAGSHIP UNION SQUARE, NEW YORK STORE VOTE OVERWHELMINGLY TO JOIN THE RWDSU - Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union