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Workers at Barneys Co-op stores go union

September 2006

Employees at the new Barneys Co-op store in Troy, Michigan, voted this month to become a union shop and join the ranks of other Barneys workers in UNITE HERE. The Troy workers are just the latest group to join the union: Nine Co-op stores are now represented by the union.

UPDATE: WHITE PLAINS CO-OP WORKERS JOIN THE UNION!

In October 2006, the employees at Barney's newest Co-op store, in the Westchester Mall in White Plains, became the latest group to sign up with the union. As the company continues to grow, the union is growing with it. Like the old labor anthem says, "We're gonna roll the union on!"

For the workers at the Co-op stores, this means that the wages and benefits they were told they’d get are guaranteed in writing. For Local 340 members who work at Barneys, it means they will have more clout and power at the bargaining table because more Barneys workers throughout the country are part of the union. It also means those new union members will be there to stand in solidarity with Local 340 members. And it means that the union is sharing in the growth of the company: As Barneys succeeds and expands, the union is expanding with it.

“Neutrality agreement” with the company

The decision of the Troy workers to join the union, like the decision of the employees at the other seven Co-op stores, grew out of an agreement reached between our international union, UNITE HERE, and the company. That agreement, called a “neutrality agreement,” simply states that workers will be able to choose whether or not they want to become a union shop without interference or intimidation from the employer. For most of the Co-op workers this question has been a no-brainer. They have voted by large majorities and sometimes unanimously to join the union, seeing the obvious benefits of having a written contract, a grievance procedure and a union representative to have their backs.

Most workers who are thinking about joining a union face a much more difficult and downright scary situation. Employers generally fight against a union drive with sophisticated and vicious anti-union campaigns. They threaten workers, tell them lies about the union and about how unions work in general, and all too often, fire workers. This happens not just because most employers are opposed to unions (they don’t want to give up even a small slice of their profits or their total control of the workplace), but also because the labor laws of our country are weak and ineffective in protecting workers’ rights to organize. (Click here for more information about the assault on workers’ rights.) This is a large part of the reason that union membership in the United States has been declining even though most workers say they want union protection in their workplaces.

Fighting back against anti-union campaigns and anti-union laws

One way that unions fight back against this unfair violation of workers’ fundamental rights is through political action, aimed ultimately at labor law reform. Another way they fight back is through agreements like the one at Barneys with enlightened employers. Neutrality agreements allow for a quick, straightforward determination on whether workers want a union or not.

The first Co-op stores to sign up under the Barneys neutrality agreement were the three stores that opened in Manhattan. The first store opened in the spring of 2000 on 18th Street in the Chelsea area. The 20 workers there became members of Local 340. Shortly after that two more stores opened in Manhattan. At the end of their first contract as union members, the workers formed a rank-and-file bargaining committee and, together with union staff, negotiated a new contract. This first renewal contract contained significant improvements that grew directly out of the workers’ experience during their first five years.

New store opening in White Plains

Elsewhere, the process has been similar. Local 340 Business Representative Elba Liz, who knows Barneys and Barneys workers well from many years of representing them, has traveled all over the country to meet with new Co-op workers. In each case, she and the local union rep who would become their rep talk with workers during their initial training week, explaining the neutrality agreement process and the benefits of a union contract. Then workers decide if they want to sign union cards and join. The cards are officially certified by an independent arbiter back in New York, and an initial contract is signed.

In addition to the Troy, Michigan store, Co-op workers in Chicago and Chevy Chase, Maryland, joined the union in 2005; and this year, workers in Washington, DC and Houston, Texas joined them. In each case, the employees have become members of the UNITE HERE joint board in their region. In November 2006, a new Co-op store will be opening in White Plains, and the union is ready once again to explain the benefits of a contract and welcome new members into a growing company and a growing union.

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