Stacking Up

Holiday shoppers who increasingly bump up against the informational picket lines at Powell's City of Books have to wonder:
Are these employees really getting screwed, or are they just whining?

As you might expect, it depends on how the question is framed. A survey of other prominent bookstores in town and across the country shows Powell's employees are comparatively well-compensated. But that could change if they are required to pick up more of their monthly health-care premiums.

At $8.87 per hour, Powell's workers start at a higher wage than any other bookstore we found, including a couple in New York and San Francisco, where the cost of living is much higher. The big issue in the stalled labor talks is medical coverage. Powell's employees, who rave about their plan for its coverage of alternative medicine and treatments, pay from $33 to $51 per month toward their health-insurance
premium. That's at the high end of what other bookstores require. Two of the competitors WW surveyed pick up the entire tab for employees' premiums. (WW did not attempt to compare the health-care plans; union officials concede that the Powell's plan is fairly comprehensive.)

The union doesn't dispute that Powell's employees have a good deal--they're just fighting to keep it that way. Powell's management wants to cut annual pay raises to 3 percent and tack another $38 onto employee contributions to health care, which would make the Powell's health-care package the most expensive WW found.

Ann Smith, CEO of operations at Powell's, claims that health-care costs have gone up 74 percent over the past four years, and employees need to be prepared to pick up some of the slack. "From our perspective, we signed the first contract three years ago in a very different business environment," Smith says.

But Ryan Van Winkle, a representative with International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 5, argues that the proposed increase in premium payments will actually make health care unaffordable for some employees. "We're just trying to keep benefits accessible," he says.

Look for more selective strikes and no compromise on the horizon this winter. Powell's employees have voted to stage walkouts on Dec. 13, 14 and 20--three of the busiest shopping days of the year. HOW POWELL'S PAY PACKAGE COMPARES   Starting Hourly Wage, Bookseller Hourly Raise After First Year Median Hourly Wage Employee Healthcare Contribution Powell's
All locations
508 employees
Unionized $8.87 53 cents $11.19 $33-$5, per month LOCAL BOOKSTORES Annie Bloom's
20 employees
No union $7 n/a $8.50 $30-$45, per month Borders Downtown
45 employees
No union $6.90 $1 n/a n/a NATIONAL BOOKSTORES The Strand
New York City
200 employees
Unionized $7.50 $1 $12 $0 Tattered Cover
Denver
230 employees
No union $6 25 cents $9.50 $50, per month Stacy's
San Francisco
39 employees
Unionized $8.75 75 cents $11.50 $0

WWeek 2015