Iconic Bookstore takes steps to end Union Influence

Strand Bookstore has been a part ofNew York since 1927. And even as its brethren on “Book Row” have met their end, this iconic storefront has remained. However, the way in whichStrand does business may be about to change.

Strand, an independently run bookstore, has for the past 30 years, employed members of the United Auto Workers Union Local 2179; however, that policy may be about to change. According to reports by union advocates Workers for a Democratic Workplace, Strands is seeking to implement a “two tier pay system,” which could potentially create animosity between union employees, leading to the union disassociating.

According to a statement released by Workers for a Democratic Workplace, as presently constituted, “Strandemployees are currently provided with the benefits and job security that allow them to build careers as booksellers.” But if Strand ownership does not concede its negotiation points, many union benefits will be abolished.

Though the store’s owners, Fred Bass and daughter Nancy Bass-Wyden have undeniably worked in good faith during past union negotiations, union advocates feel that the store is clearly moving away from union-workers. Chris McCallion, a Strandemployee since 2010, has said that since Borders closed, things at Strands have been changing. “Since Borders went under they’ve [The Strand's owners] been directly harvesting managers from those stores,” said McCallion. “Normally they’d promote someone who’d been working here for a while, someone who was a good worker.”

Union Employees feel they are being passed over in favor of non-union workers for Managerial Positions

This sort of tension adds to recent negotiation struggles, according to Workers for a Democratic Union. “In the past, ownership has negotiated fairly with the union, and both sides have made concessions when necessary. Unfortunately, during the past year, ownership has begun to undermine the union… [by increasing] the number of non-union managers relative to union employees…and most dramatically, it has used the current round of negotiations to push a contract that would substantially reduce benefits and begin the process of breaking the union.”

As per their Mar. 15 statement, union advocates seeStrandownership’s negotiations as an attempt to create dissidence between union members. “Personally, I think the biggest problem is that they want to introduce a two-tier wage system,” said a 24-year-old femaleStrandemployee who started working there nine months ago, and asked that her name not be used. “That’s been the main tactic to break unions since the auto industry was going under.”

The employee, who commented to John Farley of MetroFocus, echoes the concerns of many union employees. Despite their negotiation tactics, however, Nancy Bass-Wyden (Co-Owner) has acknowledged the vital role ofStrand’s staff.  “We try very hard to give our customers the best service and the best shopping experience possible…Our staff is incredibly passionate about reading and they love to recommend books and talk to customers about shared interests.”

Nevertheless, keeping such passionate staff is a daunting task, considering thatStrandhas 55,000 square feet of space, and is considered one of the largest used bookstores in the world. With so many books, it’s impressive thatStrand’s employees manage to stay on top of their duties and maintain a pleasant atmosphere for customers.

Strand's s seemingly endless assortment of books demands the navigational expertise of its employees

Adding to the tension is the fact that some recall a time when working at Strand’s was not so pleasant. Lower East Side Punk Rock musician Patti Smith, who worked for Strands in the early 70’s, has painted a less rosy picture of the employment experience. In an interview for New York Magazine in 2005, she said “[I worked at Strands for] just a short period [in the early 70’s], and I didn’t like it. I worked in the basement, and it wasn’t very friendly.”

Perhaps the fact that Strands did not begin unionizing its employees until 1976 played a role in Smith’s bad experience at Strand. Today, Strandstands as a beacon of independent bookselling success, even while booksellers around the nation struggle against the rise of the e-book and the omnipresent clout of online retailers like Amazon.com.

Ultimately, while a decision to de-unionize may be unpopular among union employees, there aren’t many sound business options for dying breeds, like independent booksellers, in 2012.

Georgia Suter

Competition from tablets and ebooks have shaken the stability of many bookstores in New York and across the United States in the past few years. While a shift in the bookstore landscape started years earlier, with large chain booksellers forcing lesser-known independent stores out of business, the new digital shift is pushing those very chains, like Borders, into bankruptcy. Strand Book Store on Broadway, which first opened in 1927 and moved to its current location in the ’50s, stands as the sole survivor of what used to be New York’s legendary “Book Row,” which consisted of 48 bookstores that ran from Union Square down to Astor Place.

Occupying 55,000 square feet of space—it famously bills itself as “18 miles of books”— Strand stands as a “fiercely independent” family business. It’s currently run by the founder’s son, Fred Bass, who started working in his father’s store at the age of 13, and his daughter, Nancy Bass Wyden. In the early 1990s, the bookstore went online and customers can now browse its entire collection at strandbooks.com.

While tablets of all kind, from the Amazon Kindle to Barnes & Noble’s Nook and the Apple iPad, are making digital books accessible to people, Andrew V., who has worked as an operator at Strand for over a year and a half, noted that Strand stands apart from other sources. He said it maintains its strength due to its rare collections.

“I like to read classics and more obscure things that they might not carry on Kindle—they tend to carry more mass-market books,” he said.

Wyden, the founder’s granddaughter, has previously noted that serious collectors visit the store and that its collection is the envy of major libraries.

For the average shopper, Andrew noted that there are certain challenges that come with being an independent seller. “One of the biggest challenges is that a lot of people want to go to the bigger name bookstore because they’re most likely to carry a lot of things. A lot of times, we won’t deal with a certain publisher for some reason—we might not have an established relationship with them, for instance. So we might only get a few used copies [of a book] in, but it’s not something we’ve actually ordered.”

With the current economic climate, however, Strand’s low prices and carts of discounted books lining the sidewalks outside appeal to many.

“A lot of our stuff is used as well as new, but that’s also what is keeping us in business at the same time,” noted Andrew. “We have good prices. People who wind up coming here, when they do discover us and see our prices, it makes them inclined to come back again and again.”

While the store does not sell any kind of tablet, it has reaped profits from selling merchandise alongside the books, adding another element to the bookstore experience and spreading the family’s historic brand outside the building’s borders.

“We do sell a lot of merchandise, which is one of our hits—like the tote bag—and that’s helped us stand out,” Andrew says.

With five floors of books, Andrew points out that the store is also using gatherings of interested and passionate book lovers as a means of boosting revenue.

“Our events used to be free, but we’re starting to charge for them now. We ask that people contribute a minimum of $10, which goes toward a gift card they can use at the store. The events are also a way to encourage them to buy books at the event.”

And Wyden has previously stated, “Tourists love to go stores that they can’t find anywhere else. Customers always tell us they love shopping at Strand because it’s like a treasure hunt—you never know what you’re going to find. And because we’re part of New York City history.”