Anyone who has ever worked retail knows the pay is low, schedules can be unpredictable, and the long hours on your feet helping customers is physically draining. Our health and safety is often at risk because of threatening behavior from shoplifters and customers alike.
I’ve worked for Macy’s at the Southcenter Mall store for twenty one years. I love my coworkers and our customers. It’s like a second family. But because of chronic understaffing, workers like us have been stretched thin, often lacking support and clear policies to follow when we are faced with situations that present a threat to us or our customers. Some of my coworkers were even retaliated against by management when they raised concerns or called 9-1-1 for help.
It’s as if some corporations see the people working in stores as expendable. It can feel like we’re collateral damage in the retail theft fight, as if it costs less for corporations to see us get hurt than to offer livable wages and training to recruit and retail enough staff and invest in better security in stores.
I used to think there was nothing we could do about it. Well, all of that changed this past year. With the power of our union, UFCW 3000, Macy’s workers at Alderwood, Bellis Fair, and Southcenter Macy’s united to fight for improved safety standards for more than 400 of us. We went on strike over the busy Black Friday weekend, and some of us went back on an historic nine-day strike again in January. We asked our customers to shop elsewhere until Macy’s addressed our concerns. More than 20,000 shoppers supported our call to boycott.
It worked. Together, we won significant wage and benefit protections and a best in the nation ratification bonus. Just as important, we secured major commitments from Macy’s that will make us safer on the job. Our new contract sets a new gold standard for retail workers across the country. We got increased safety protections, including the right for workers to bring up safety concerns without fear of retaliation. If we see something, we can say something. We can ask for support, and we can call 9-1-1 when confronted with a threat instead of worrying that whether we act or don’t act, we may get in trouble. We no longer have to just put up with unsafe conditions as part of the job. The next time a customer needs medical attention, or a sales associate experiences a threat to their safety, we no longer have to wonder, do I call for help or is that risking my job?
After voting to authorize a strike, our fellow UFCW 3000 grocery members over at PCC got a new contract that will make them the highest paid grocery and meat workers in the area. They also won improved safety in the stores and secured a groundbreaking agreement to have workers on the board and begin discussion with the company around profit sharing.
Years ago I was skeptical about whether collective action through a workers’ union would make much of a difference. Now I’ve experienced the union difference first hand. Whether you work in retail, grocery or some other customer service job, being represented by a union is a proven way to win rights to safety and support from our managers, as well as livable wages and affordable benefits. The difference is night and day.
Azia Domingo is a support team member at Macy’s Southcenter and lives with her family in Renton.
