On February 25, UFCW Local 400 members working at Politics and Prose bookstores in Washington, DC voted 28–8 to ratify a new union contract.
The new three-year agreement covers approximately 70 booksellers and baristas and includes:
- Guaranteed wage increases each year of the agreement
- Protections against “clopening shifts”
- Retention language to promote from within before accepting external candidates
- Bereavement pay
- An additional holiday
- Recall language in the event of layoffs
- The ability to appoint more shop stewards
- A Dignity & Respect clause
“Congratulations to our members on a hard-won contract,” said Mark Federici, President of UFCW Local 400. “None of these improvements would have been possible without everyone staying engaged and unified throughout this process. And a special thanks to our hardworking bargaining committee for their time and effort getting this across the finish line. It’s never easy to negotiate a contract and they stepped up in a big way on behalf of their coworkers. We’re proud to have you in our union family.”
Politics and Prose employees were the first bookstore in DC to unionize in January 2022 and the first to win a union contract later that year. The following year, booksellers at Solid State Books followed suit and unionized, then ratified their first contract in July 2023.
