Workers at Greenlight Bookstore in NYC, who are represented by the RWDSU, ratified a new three-year contract. The new provisions include annual wage increases, increased PTO and paid holidays, and increased staff for opening and closing shifts. The company will also pay more toward health insurance, without any increase to the employees’ contributions. The news comes soon after the RWDSU successfully negotiated the first two union contracts at Barnes & Noble stores. “I’m really proud of our new contract, and grateful for the workers who first organized the shop in 2021 as well as all the booksellers across the city […]
Unions
Illinois B&N Ratifies Union Contract
After three Barnes & Noble locations in NYC finalized the chain’s first union contracts last week, the union at the Bloomfield, IL store ratified their contract as well. Workers at all four stores are represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The contract provides union healthcare coverage, safety provisions, and pay and job security.
B&N Workers in NYC Ratify Union Contracts
Workers at three Barnes & Noble locations in New York ratified their union contracts with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), the first such contracts for the nation’s largest bookstore chain. The contracts cover more than 200 workers at the Union Square flagship store, West 82nd Street, and Park Slope. The contracts include wage increases (bringing the starting wage from $18 to $19), union healthcare, safety equipment and language, layoff protections, job and pay security, and more. The contracts have slight variations for each store, RWDSU said in a release. “The ratification of this contract represents three years […]
News Updates: Kiran Desai’s Novel, Obama’s Reading, Mel Robbins’ Latest, and A BN Picket
Kiran Desai‘s long-awaited novel THE LONELINESS OF SONIA AND SUNNY will be published on September 23, 2025 by PRH’s Hogarth imprint. The deal for the book was first announced in fall 2010, a year after Desai won the Booker Prize for THE INHERITANCE OF LOSS. At the time, the book was expected for publication in 2013. It was acquired for Knopf, by the late Sonny Mehta and former editorial director Robin Desser. David Ebershoff edited for Hogarth, and the novel weighs in at 656 pages. Separately, former president Barack Obama announced his 10 favorite books of 2024. On Tuesday, December […]
Strand Union And Management Reach Tentative Agreement
The Strand Union has reached a tentative agreement with management, ending the strike that began on December 7. The union posted online, “We won a $5.90/hr increase over 4 years, meaning ~30% raises for the membership.” They added, “Strike and picketing is over while the members discuss and vote on the TA. Thank you to everyone who came out to support!” The union was asking for new employees to get $.50 over minimum wage when they are hired and a $.50 raise after 9 months. Additionally, they wanted current employees to get a $2/hr raise in the first year, and […]
The Strand Union Strikes
Unionized booksellers at The Strand in New York went on strike starting Saturday, December 7. The union has been negotiating for a new contract since August and authorized a strike in November. The current contract expired on Thanksgiving, November 28 and the approximately 90 unionized employees have been working without a contract ever since. According to UAW Local 2179 representative Will Bobrowski, the parties will go back to the bargaining table at 10:30 AM today (Monday). The union is currently not picketing in front of the store, but is ready to go back to the picket line at any time […]