Borders Puts It in Writing
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Just over a year ago the staff at Borders Books & Music in Lakeview made retail history when they became the first employees of a giant bookstore chain to vote for a union, Local 881 of the United Food and Commercial Workers. But since then the employees have spent many long and frustrating months trying to iron out a contract with Borders management. As recently as three weeks ago, UFCW representative and former Borders employee Greg Popek wasn’t certain the Lakeview staff would get a satisfactory contract. But after refusing to budge on key economic issues, Borders management suddenly handed the employees’ negotiating team a revised proposal for a three-year contract on September 29. The contract was subsequently ratified by a margin of 29 to 8, though more than half the staff has turned over since last year’s union vote. Chris Grant served on the employee team during the entire 12-month negotiation; he admits he was somewhat surprised by the company’s sudden change of heart. Dave Helland, another member of the employee committee, is just glad to have the whole thing behind him: “It sure wasn’t fun, and it certainly wasn’t intellectually stimulating.”
Though the Lakeview store is the first in the Borders chain to get a contract, negotiations are ongoing at three other stores, in Des Moines, New York City, and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Slankard declined to speculate on what impact the Lakeview contract would have on those negotiations: “We will continue to work with each one of the union locals in good faith, as we have indicated we would.” Grant says the Lakeview contract may not be everything he hoped for, but he still believes it will prove a useful “building block” for future contracts.
