Macy's Strike Threatened By End of Wednesday If Contract Dispute Continues

Around 5,000 retail workers at Macy’s are threatening to strike if the union and management cannot reach an acceptable agreement in their faltering contract negotiations.

Four of the retail icon’s outlets could see walk-outs if the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union decides to follow through with the strike, including Macy’s historic flagship store on 34th Street in Manhattan.

Negotiations have been strained after the last contract ran out at the beginning of May. Central issues of contention for the union include workers bearing increasing costs of health care plans, changing compensation structures and holiday work hours. The union has also decried Macy's recent shift to a more lenient policy on customer returns, which it says would hurt the income of workers who earn commission.

"In this final negotiation today for a fair contract at Macy’s, we have support from countless leaders and allies in New York and across the country," Stuart Applebaum, president of the union, said in a statement. 

"As we get closer to midnight, Macy’s needs to put into place a new contract that addresses the needs of workers who are central to the company’s profitability," he continued. "If Macy’s does not negotiate in good faith today, we will have no choice but to strike at midnight."

Macy's issued a statement affirming its intentions work to reach a deal. "With the deadline to reach an agreement nearing, we are continuing to negotiate, in good faith, on the issues still remaining on the bargaining table," it said. "We are committed to keeping the lines of communication open and continuing the talks round-the-clock with the goal of reaching an agreement that is fair and equitable both for our workers and the Company." 

The union voted on May 19 to authorize a strike if a contract was not reached by  June 15.

Tensions were inflamed when Macy's ran an ad looking for temporary workers in preparation for the strike. The union saw this as a threat and posted an image of the ad on Twitter with the word "scabs" written across it:

A spokeswoman for Macy's defended the store's preparations in a statement, saying, "Placing ads seeking temporary replacement workers is a standard but necessary practice to ensure store preparedness in the event of a strike as our intent is to serve our customers throughout this renegotiation process."

The spokeswoman also confirmed to Patch today that it has plans to keep its stores operational if the union follows through with the strike.

This labor dispute occurs as calls for $15 minimum wage, particularly in the retail and fast food sectors, have gained national attention. 

It also comes on the heels of the end of the major strike led by the Communication Workers of America against Verizon, when nearly 40,000 employees walked off the job. While some of these disputes make headlines, strikes generally have drastically declined in recent decades.

Photo Credit: Mike Strand via Wikimedia Commons