Willy

This week New Brunswick, NJ became the site of what is likely to be the first unionized Barnes & Noble store when its employees filed for recognition of the Rutgers NB Bookstore Union (Twitter, Instagram) on Thursday (April 6). The store is on the campus of Rutgers University, and heavily staffed by pro-union student workers, who made their presence felt:

According to a Bloomberg report, the union "[has] signed up most of the roughly 70 employees at the store" and is looking to affiliate with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU)–probably best known in recent times for their efforts to win an Amazon union in Bessemer, AL.

Like with other major retailers it seems certain Barnes & Noble will fight this tooth and nail, especially given the high likelihood of a successful union vote. Fortunately, it seems that the Rutgers NB Bookstore Union has been studying for this and has good support from local leftists and unions, particularly North Jersey DSA and the Rutgers AAUP-AFT Academic Worker Union, whose members both showed out on Thursday for the recognition filing. Watch this space, folks.

STRIKE FUND CAN BE FOUND HERE.

This is the first ever strike of all three faculty unions at the university–which mind you was established in 1766–and was overwhelmingly voted for by union members. The three striking unions are Rutgers AAUP-AFT (full time faculty, post-grads), Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union (part-time workers); and AAUP-BHSNJ (public health and biomedical workers). Their opening bargaining proposals can be found here for a sense of what they're fighting for.

Rutgers is likely to seek an injunction to block the strike, like what's happening at the University of Michigan. Meanwhile, picket lines will be set up Monday - Friday at various locations around campus, and the union will be holding a rally on the Vorhees Mall tomorrow afternoon.

More information on the strike and how the union intends for it to progress can be found here: