Employees of Skylight Books in Los Angeles, Calif., have unionized, forming the Skylight Booksellers Union in affiliation with the Communications Workers of America Local 9003. General manager Mary Williams voluntarily recognized the union on Tuesday evening and the two sides have entered into bargaining.
Skylight Books employees presented Williams, store manager Steven Salardino and buyer Charles Hauther (who all have ownership shares) with a list of concerns that includes regular staff meetings, guaranteed annual raises, post-pandemic job security and creating emergency preparedness and safety training for staff.
"We appreciate that our management elected to recognize our union voluntarily, and we hope they can serve as an example for managers of other workers who wish to exercise their right to organize," the union said in a statement. "We are committed to making Skylight a more equitable workplace and look forward to working in collaboration with management to have our group demands met."
"This past year has been the most challenging in the store's history," Williams said. She praised the way Skylight's booksellers responded to these challenges and how the store was able to reevaluate and refine nearly all of the bookstore's procedures, while salvaging as many sales as possible.
"That said," she continued, "things moved so fast over the last year that it's obvious there is room for further reflection and improvement. I welcome the chance to continue our collaboration and address areas where we can improve the workplace and the store, as we build toward a new post-pandemic reality."