Unions

The Harper Collins Union shared on social media that it has filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, after the company did not respond to a request for information during bargaining. “We strongly believe the Board has to agree with us that the company’s refusal not only violates the labor law, but also gets in the way of us working toward an agreement,” the union said.

The Verso Books Union in the US has ratified its contract with the publisher, the union announced on Twitter. The contract includes stipulations for wage increases, protections and increases in benefits, affirmative action in hiring, and clear “close to binding” standards for promotions, among other things. Specifically, workers will receive an 11 percent raise for the first year of the contract and a 14.6 percent average increase cumulatively over three years. They also “won a new salary band system that delivers predictable and automatic annual salary steps at the start of each calendar year.” As for back to the office […]

Workers at Politics and Prose in Washington, DC, who unionized with United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 in January, ratified their contract yesterday. The three-year contract, which applies to approximately 50 current employees across locations, includes provisions for better pay and scheduling, new procedures to address disputes with management, and “expands on existing anti-discrimination language,” among others. Instead of merit-based pay increases, the new contract establishes a guaranteed annual raise based on experience and will go up along with DC’s annual minimum wage increases. “We are incredibly elated to have arrived here after eight months of hard work, and […]

Employees at Bloomsbury UK have unionized and are seeking recognition from management. The Bookseller reports that the union has over 70 members. A rep for the union said, “We have requested that management recognize us as a union chapel which represents colleagues across the UK offices, but they have so far stated that union recognition is not something they will agree to—instead opting for more management-initiated programs which are not fulfilling the same purpose as a union.” The company said in a statement to the Bookseller, “Our approach is to listen to and deal directly with all our colleagues, working […]

After announcing their intention to unionize last May, the employees of Los Angeles bookstore Book Soup have successfully formed a union and been recognized voluntarily by management. The store is owned by Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena. The Los Angles Times reports that the union is currently bargaining for “wage increases and additional staffing” as well as “disability access, fairer distribution of labor, greater transparency from leadership” and “democratic decision making in the workplace.” The starting hourly wage for booksellers, the LAT writes, is $16.50. A minimum wage provision in West Hollywood that just went into effect will incrementally boost pay […]