Why Bookshop SC workers seek a union

When you love a business that you work for, it can be beautiful. I love books, and always have, and working in a bookstore was a dream I cherished for a long time before I made it a reality. Bookshop Santa Cruz is a staple of Downtown Santa Cruz, a meeting place, and many members of our community have grown up wandering its aisles. With the unionization of Bookshop Santa Cruz’s employees, the bookstore will truly be a hub for the community, and every voice of that community will be heard.

Books have taught me how the world works, and I have learned from books that there is strength in numbers, and in community. I have found that when my coworkers and I come together, we are powerful. I have also found that Santa Cruz benefits when we raise our voices in unison, seeking to speak on behalf of those who need us, striving to make our workplace a space that fosters our growth and expansion.

We are unionizing because we know that we can help to build a better, more inclusive, diverse, and welcoming workplace if we are given a platform to make our voices heard. We believe in each other, in the promise that we’ve made to one another to protect each other, to promote each other’s welfare, and to foster our growth.

Working for an independent bookstore requires an internal pledge, a pledge to care deeply about the books we sell, the customers we sell to, and the community we want to reach.

We are small, compared to the other businesses that have tried so hard to tank us with lower prices and targeted algorithms, but we have heart. We connect with our customers, and help them to find the next book that they will rave about to all of their friends. Our love for books, and the joy we get from connecting the right reader to the right title, sets us apart, and makes us powerful.

With this union, we are harnessing that power and using it to further invest in our community, and in the bookstore that we love. Our union will allow us to feel confident in our positions at Bookshop Santa Cruz, granting us job security during a pandemic, giving us the power to bargain on behalf of the most vulnerable members of our team, and creating the opportunity for every employee to invest in solutions that will uplift the bookstore.

I signed a union card because I believe that our staff deserves to be heard, and respected, and deserves to have management that prioritizes making us feel safe. I believe that we deserve performance reviews, and regular raises. I believe that we should have some job security during a pandemic that places our health at risk. I believe that any person working a 40-hour week should be able to comfortably pay rent. I believe in the collective strength of my coworkers, and understand that we are stronger together. I also believe that we all – everyone in this community, booksellers, management, and customers alike – ultimately want the same thing: we want our bookstore to be a hub of connection, exploration, and progressive thought.

I have seen the inspirational energy that emerges when my coworkers collaborate to make our workplace great. I know that our union will ensure that this happens on a daily basis, and I look forward to seeing how Bookshop Santa Cruz flourishes when we do.

I have seen the inspirational energy that emerges when my coworkers collaborate to make our workplace great. I know that our union will ensure that this happens on a daily basis, and I look forward to seeing how Bookshop Santa Cruz flourishes when we do.