TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN — On Friday, workers at Bookmans Entertainment Exchange’s east-side location at East Speedway and North Wilmot Road filed a petition for representation with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), taking the first step towards forming a union.
Bookmans is a Tucson-based retail chain that buys and sells used goods including books, music, movies, and games. According to the company’s website, the chain has five locations, covering Tucson, Phoenix, Mesa, and Flagstaff.
The petition to unionize comes after the store's entire marketing team was laid off in January without notice, according to the union.
“We have been living a much more fearful existence at Bookmans," said Becca Light, a Children’s Books Specialist at Bookmans East. “We’ve had ongoing struggles with being able to afford basic necessities because of the pay being so poor."
Seeking to be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 99, the Tucson-area bookstore workers would become the first in their industry to unionize, pending a successful NLRB election.
The board is expected to issue an election date in the coming weeks.
Despite being the first in Arizona to petition for unionization, Bookmans employees are part of a growing national movement of bookstore workers who have organized with UFCW since 2021.
This includes workers employed by nationwide chains like Barnes & Noble and Half Price Books as well as local shops like Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, Book Culture & Greenlight in New York City, and Savoy Bookshop & Cafe in Westerly, Rhode Island.
President of Bookmans, Sean Feeney, said, "We were made aware of this petition yesterday afternoon and are looking into it. We have no further comment at this time."
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