Workers at Macy's vote to authorize a strike if contract negotiations fail
WARWICK, Rhode Island – Unionized workers at five Macy's department stores have voted to potentially strike as they continue negotiations with the retailer for a new contract.
Union negotiator and sales colleague Anita Hovey said workers want Macy's to raise the minimum pay at the Warwick, Rhode Island store to at least $15 an hour, after the chain announced the higher starting pay for nonunion stores in January.
"We got a best and final offer from Macy's last Friday and we had about 250 people come up and vote last Sunday, and they did take a strike vote," Hovey said.
The stores in Braintree, Peabody and Natick, Massachusetts, and Warwick, are under one union contract. A fifth store, in Boston, is under a different contract, Hovey said. Workers at all five are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445.
While the union has authorization to strike, the final decision hasn't been made. Employees plan to hand out pamphlets at the store in Warwick on Friday and at the store in Boston next Wednesday. After the Wednesday demonstration, they will probably know if a strike will happen, Hovey said.
"We've gone back to the bargaining table, but we've reached an impasse. And Macy's says they're negotiating in good faith, but they're not giving us any counteroffers," she said.
Macy's employees came back to work after a two-month COVID lockdown in 2020.The company, which released quarterly earnings on Thursday, is in good financial shape, Hovey said.
According to a news release, sales are up nearly 13% compared to the same quarter in 2021, and the company bought back $600 million of its own stock.
Hovey said the union wants a wage floor of $15 for Rhode Island workers, since the Massachusetts minimum wage will rise to $15 in 2023, and guaranteed time-and-a-half for Massachusetts workers on Sundays. Rhode Island retail workers are guaranteed time-and-a-half on Sundays.
"At this point, we don't want to strike, but we will if we have to," she said. "It's a three-year contract and we're looking for fair wages."
If no contract is ratified and the union goes forward with a strike, strike captains will lead the unionized employees out of the store and they will form a picket line.
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In an email, Macy's External Communications Director Jacqueline King wrote that the company trusts the collective bargaining process and the leaders on both sides.
"We are hopeful that we will reach a deal that is mutually beneficial to the colleagues, the company and the union," she wrote.
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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Macy's Warwick Mall workers authorize strike seeking $15/hour base pay
