The workers of Politics and Prose have successfully unionized, becoming the first bookstore in D.C. to do so.

The UFCW Local 400 is now the collective bargaining agent for 54 employees across the three bookstore locations, according to organizing director Alan Hanson. The regional labor union is known for supporting retail workers and will represent the Politics and Prose staff.

The owners, Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine, voluntarily recognized the union on Dec. 31 after refusing to for several weeks. Next, they and the union will have to negotiate a contract. 

“As stewards of a local, independent business with a 37-year legacy of progressive management and mission, we’ve valued collaborating with employees to solve problems and address needs, and we look forward to working with the union in the same spirit,” says Graham and Muscatine in a statement released Monday. 

On Dec. 8, employees asked Graham and Muscatine to acknowledge their union after 55 of them signed union-authorization cards. But the owners did not accept the cards, instead requiring employees to hold an election through the National Labor Relations Board. Following weeks of public pushback over their handling of the labor issue — including hiring the law firm, Jones Day, known for their aggressive union-busting work — the owners hinted on the bookstore’s website they’d be willing to voluntarily recognize the union without a formal election.

Once the parties reached an agreement over who should be included in the union and thus covered by the contract — and a neutral, third party (a fellow with the prominent think tank, Economic Policy Institute) verified the cards — Graham and Muscatine recognized the union.

“We are proud to join the growing movement of booksellers and baristas across the country who have unionized their workplaces,” wrote the Politics and Prose organizing committee in a statement. “Forming our union has not only served as an affirmation of our shared values within the Politics and Prose community, it will also strengthen our workplace and ensure the long-term success of our beloved community hub.”  

Bookseller and shift supervisor Sarah Valencia is still in disbelief that she is a part of the District’s first unionized bookstore. The process of unionizing felt uncertain at times, but she remained encouraged by the support that she and her colleagues received, online and in person. Customers signaled their support by wearing red to the store on Wednesdays. Authors cheered the Politics and Prose union effort on social media. She says workers of other unionized bookstores, including Powell’s Books in Oregon and Half Price Books in Minnesota, reached out to Politics and Prose employees and expressed solidarity. The experience ultimately confirmed Valencia’s decision to work at Politics and Prose over the long haul. 

“Initially, I felt like maybe this isn’t the best environment for me to stay long term, and maybe it’s something only temporary,” Valencia tells DCist/WAMU. “But now that we actually have the opportunity to improve, I feel more optimistic that we can make this a healthy workplace.”

Employees hope the contract secures higher wages, a standardized pay scale, and pay transparency. They also hope to improve scheduling and staffing levels. The holidays underscored how short-staffed the bookstore is, according to multiple workers. Employees also hope to have a say in health and safety policies, especially considering COVID-19 cases in D.C. have surged to the highest point in the pandemic, as well as a say in bookselling and buying practices.         

The last month has Valencia feeling optimistic about contract negotiations. What could have been a tense time between management and workers was not, according to Valencia. It was mostly business as usual. Graham and Muscatine are no longer being represented by Jones Day, a law firm known for its aggressive anti-union tactics (and for representing Donald Trump), instead hiring Kathy Krieger, an experienced local labor attorney.  

That retailers like Politics and Prose are unionizing is a recent phenomenon. According to Hanson, who’s been supporting the Politics and Prose union, Local 400 has not organized a D.C. retailer in over a decade at least. In a trend seen across many industries, retail has struggled to unionize over the last several decades. Just under 5 percent of retail workers belonged to a union in 2020, a figure that has barely changed since 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers’ lack of structural power is partly to blame, says Peter Ikeler, a sociology professor at SUNY Old Westbury and the author of “Hard Sell: Work and Resistance in Retail Chains.” 

“Unions are very much necessary in retail,” Ikeler tells DCist/WAMU. “It’s one of the lowest paid sectors of the economy — that’s undergone formal deskilling by employers and it has precarity embedded in schedules, hours, health benefits.” 

Adam Wescott, who’s worked at Politics and Prose since 2015, knows the bookstore’s union has been a long time in the making. “A good number of people were involved with this effort and left … And some of them have got in touch with me and said, ‘Hey, I just want to let you know that this is super great that this is happening,” Wescott tells DCist/WAMU. “I’m glad that after all the work that so many different people put in over the course of several years, that it all sort of came to something.”

“All of my coworkers know that despite our victory now, there’s still a lot more work that has to be done and that we all have to do. I’m excited that we have the chance to do it,” he adds.