Flagstaff, AZ – On Monday, September 23, the union formed by employees at Bookmans Flagstaff Entertainment Exchange was voluntarily recognized by company management, completing the second successful organizing drive by workers at the Arizona-based book chain in less a month. Management’s decision to recognize the union at their Flagstaff location follows the successful National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election at their Tucson East location last month on August 27.
On September 9, employees at the Flagstaff Bookmans store notified management that 100% of their staff had authorized union representation, far eclipsing the NLRB’s 30% necessary threshold to demand recognition. Per NLRB guidelines, voluntary recognition allows employees to forgo a union election and begin formal contract negotiations with the company.
Bookmans is a Tucson-headquartered retail chain that buys and sells used goods including books, music, movies, and games. According to the company’s website, the chain has five locations, covering Tucson, Phoenix, Mesa, and Flagstaff. To date, employees at two of the five Bookmans locations have unionized with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 99.
“Bookmans workers across Arizona are standing up to demand a better working life” said Jim McLaughlin, President of UFCW Local 99. “Bookmans is important to communities throughout the state and the workers are a fundamental part of what makes Bookmans a community fixture. Now, Bookmans workers are recognizing their power and joining together to have a voice in the discussion about their future.”
“The reason I believe Bookmans needs to unionize is from a place of love,” said Tony Taurman, an Electronics Buyer at Bookmans Flagstaff. “I believe that our store is a pillar of the Flagstaff community and this is to make sure that the workers there are taken care of and that they’re happy. Happy workers make a happy business.”
Bookmans employees are part of a growing national movement of bookstore workers who have organized with UFCW since 2021. This includes workers employed by nationwide chains like Barnes & Noble and Half Price Books as well as local shops like Bookmans’ Tucson East Location, Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, Book Culture & Greenlight in New York City, and Savoy Bookshop & Cafe in Westerly, Rhode Island.
UFCW 99 is Arizona’s largest private-sector union, representing 25,000 essential workers at Fry’s, Safeway, and many other employers throughout the southwest. There are over 1.3 million UFCW members nationwide.
