Washington, D.C. — Today, Half Price Books workers in Minnesota who recently organized with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Locals 1189 and 663 walked off the shopfloor to launch an Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) strike. The ULP charge filed with the National Labor Relations Board is over the failure of Half Price Books to provide crucial information to union representatives during the contract negotiation process. Today’s strike comes on the heels of a growing unionization movement at Half Price Books stores in which eight locations have voted to unionize, and a ninth is set to vote next week.
“We’re fed up. Half Price Books management has repeatedly failed to approach negotiations with the respect and seriousness workers deserve.” Hanna Anderson, Saint Paul Half Price Bookstore Worker.” Instead of living up to Half Price Books’ purported family-owned values, management offered workers an offensive 1 percent wage increase while violating federal labor law in the process. If Half Price Books wants its values to be anything more than a shallow punch line, then management should stop their hypocrisy and treat workers like family by providing us with real raises and the security a union contract provides.”
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UFCW is the largest private-sector union in the United States. UFCW International represents 1.3 million professionals and their families in healthcare, grocery stores, meatpacking, food processing, retail shops, and other industries. Our members serve our communities in all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW at ufcw.org.