Strike Two: Unionized Powell's Workers Hold One Day Walk-out
by Edward Nawotka, PW Daily for Booksellers -- Publishers Weekly, 11/18/2003
Less than a week after workers struck at Borders's downtown Ann Arbor, Mich., store, employees at one of country's major indies also went on strike.Last Wednesday, more than 300 unionized workers at the seven Powell's Bookstore locations in Portland, Ore., went on strike to protest a slow down in contract negotiations. Powell's workers unionized in 1999 and joined the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 5; the union's first contract, negotiated in 2000, expired on October 1.
Approximately 385 employees are represented by the union out of a total of 494 employees.
The stores remained open throughout the strike, staffed by managers and additional employees. A second strike day was scheduled for Saturday, November 15, but was cancelled. The union held an hour-long candlelight vigil instead.
The union has authorized another strike for November 28, the day after Thanksgiving, and just three days after the next scheduled round of negotiations on November 25.
In the most recent round of negotiations, the union has requested annual wage increases of 7%, then 6% and 6% for each of the next three years. Powell's management first offered 2% annual increases, and has since raised the offer to 3% annual increases over three years. The previous contract negotiated between Powell's and the union included 3% annual raises over three years; it can be viewed online at: http://ilwulocal5.com.
Ryan Van Winkle, the union rep for Local 5, told PW Daily, "The median income for a Powell's employee is a hair over $11 per hour. But half of the employees are making less than that, and when you're making $9 an hour a 3% annual raise per year isn't a lot of money."
Terms of the employer-provided heath insurance are also under dispute. The current contract offers full medical, dental and vision coverage for a one-time $100 annual deductible with visits to a preferred provider fully covered.
Ann Smith, Powell's CEO for operations, told PW Daily that health insurance costs have "increased 82% in the past three years." As a result, the company is requesting workers to pay a 10% co-pay on preferred provider visits and a $75 one-time deductible for dental coverage. "The changes that we're proposing are changes that most companies have made over the last five years," Smith said.
Van Winkle said the changes are more severe and argued "The changes with the health care plan will make it so employees can't keep up with inflation and many will have to drop out of the program."
Since the contract ended on October 1, the union has filed seven unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board. The charges include that Powell's has singled out union officers for excessive supervision and altered the e-mail policy to prevent workers from conducting union-related activities using company e-mail.
Smith told PW Daily the charges are "groundless." The NLRB has yet to make a ruling.
