Bloomingdale’s storied window displays could soon be obscured by an unusual sight: picketing workers. þþEmployees and executives at the department store’s giant 59th Street location in Manhattan are girding for a possible strike after failing to reach agreement on a new labor contract over the last two months. þþThe existing four-year contract expires Wednesday night and members of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union have voted to authorize a work stoppage, which would be the first at the store in 40 years. þþThe union, which represents sales clerks, shelf stockers and clerical workers at Bloomingdale’s flagship store, has not set a strike date and both sides say they are working to avoid such a showdown. Negotiators could extend the talks past Wednesday’s deadline. þþThe talks are focusing on the rising cost of living in New York City. The union is trying to contrast those costs with healthy profits at the high-end department store, which has experienced a resurgence over the last several years. Owned by Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s is considered the company’s strongest division.þþThe sticking points in the contract talks are wages and health insurance for the more than 2,000 unionized workers at the flagship store. (The contract does not cover workers at other Bloomingdale’s stores.)þþWorkers currently receive health insurance through a program run by the retailer and the union. According to people briefed on the deliberations, Bloomingdale’s is seeking to offer workers the option of a second plan, run only by the company, with the goal of providing more choice.þþThe union has so far rejected that proposal, said Anne Keating, a spokeswoman for Bloomingdale’s. Neither side would explain why. þþThe union is also calling for a wage increase, arguing that Bloomingdale’s 59th Street store profited handsomely over the last two years from foreign tourists shopping in New York to take advantage of the weak American dollar. þþIn an interview, Ms. Keating said that Bloomingdale’s was confident its wage proposal would be accepted by the union. “We think our wages are fair and competitive.”þþStuart Appelbaum, the president of the union, said that employees “have made the store profitable throughout the year, and Bloomingdale’s is doing very well; unfortunately, workers at the store are not doing as well.”þþA strike is by no means inevitable. Labor talks routinely spill over contract deadlines. But both sides are planning for picket lines. þþAt Bloomingdale’s on Monday, managers, led by the chief executive, Michael Gould, began training to run the store without its rank-and-file workers, should there be a strike. “Clearly no one benefits from the store being closed — not the management; not our associates, even if their union has authorized them to strike; and most of all, not our loyal customers,” Ms. Keating said.þþMr. Appelbaum said the union was “not looking for a strike,” but said authorizing one was “a very serious and significant act.”þþ
Source: NY Times
