Workers at McKay’s Knoxville Bookstore Joined by Community Members and Allies Rally to Build Support for Their Union

After Being Denied Voluntary Recognition, Workers at McKay’s Knoxville Bookstore Filed for a National Labor Relations Board Election with a Strong Majority of Workers Pledging to Vote for a Union.

Workers at McKay’s Knoxville Bookstore Organize Rally to Build Solidarity with Community Members Ahead of the Vote Count for their Union Election.

Knoxville, Tenn. — Workers at McKay’s Books Inc. in Knoxville, Tenn., who are organizing to form a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), held a rally yesterday evening with community members and allies to build solidarity and support for their union. For decades, the workers have served readers and hobbyists in the community by providing excellent service to customers and ensuring McKay’s reputation as a beloved institution to access a wide variety of affordable second-hand books and other forms of entertainment. Unfortunately, this has come at a cost for the workers who are overworked, underpaid, and mistreated.

“There are workers who have been employed at McKay’s anywhere between five years to twenty plus years. We love our jobs and care about our customers who depend on our services,” said Aaron Hege, a Book & Media Buyer at McKay’s with 25 years of service. “But so many of us are struggling with the long hours, lack of adequate compensation, unfair scheduling, and other challenges that are making it difficult for us to continue to do our jobs. At the beginning of the pandemic, some of our long-term employees were fired without an explanation. It made the rest of us feel expendable. We are the reason McKay’s continues to be a successful business and all we are asking is for that to be reciprocated in the way we are treated. The changes we are fighting for will have a lasting impact on improving our working conditions and put us in a position to serve our customers better.”

Fed up by the failure of McKay’s owners to recognize the value of their contributions, the workers are organizing under McKay's Knoxville Workers Union-CWA Local 3805 for dignity, respect, and a voice on the job. In their vision statement, the workers have laid out a list of the issues they are seeking to resolve by forming a union and negotiating a fair contract. Jaxx Fox, a Hardware Buyer at McKay’s with 8 years of service said, "I helped organize the union at McKay’s for fair firing and hiring policies. We deserve for-cause dismissal and adequate and transparent hiring methods to provide security and support for workers."

Despite a clear majority support for a union by the workers, the ownership denied the workers’ request for voluntary recognition. The workers proceeded to file for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), becoming the first group of McKay’s store workers to seek formal recognition for their union. A strong majority of the group of roughly 60 eligible workers signed union authorization cards and have pledged to vote yes in the NLRB election. Voting is currently underway and the ballots will be counted on November 8.

“It is unfortunate that McKay’s owners chose not to recognize our union but we are confident that we will win this vote. Our hope is that they do not interfere with our organizing efforts and respect our right to have a union,” said Margaret Casteel, a Book Buyer at McKay’s with 6 years of service. “We are constantly having to make sacrifices just to serve our customers well and keep doing the job that we love. Our hard work is the reason the store not only survived but thrived even throughout the pandemic. It is way past time for the workers to be valued and treated accordingly. We know what we deserve and won’t back down until we get it.”

Community members and allies joined the workers at the rally to show their support for the workers’ organizing effort. Throughout their organizing, McKay’s workers have been inspired by the other Knoxville area workers who are fighting for a union, including Starbucks workers and workers at the Three Rivers Coop Market. Some of them were present at the rally in solidarity with the McKay workers. The workers also invited community supporters to sign an “I’ll Be There” pledge to support their upcoming efforts to win formal union recognition and bargain a fair first contract.

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About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields.

cwa-union.org @cwaunion
@McKaysKnoxUnion

Contact: Cassie Watters | cwatters@cwa-union.org | 617-304-1108 or Biruk Assefa (Bassefa@cwa-union.org)