Barney’s Coop Negotiations 6/11 and 6/20

Bargaining team members Elaine, Jamel, Blake, Eric, Brendan and Keith 

6/24/08 -- The Barney’s Coop bargaining team has recently held two additional sessions with the company: June 11th and June 20th. The union presented a long set of proposals, covering the following topics:

Selling and non-selling wage increases. Barney’s rejected our proposal for a commission increase, but we will continue to fight for one.

“Quality of Life” Improvements, such as improvements to Health and Safety, the lunchroom, etc.

Warehouse Sale Compensation

Holiday Scheduling


In addition to presenting proposals, the bargaining committee spent time in discussion with the company about workplace concerns. For example, the team discussed the issue of commission parody with the Madison Avenue Coop. Barney's Coop sales staff sell the same product at the same price point with the same amount of skill and training, but earn half of a percentage point less than their Madison Avenue counterparts.

One of the most difficult issues in this round of negotiations is sure to be health insurance. As health insurance costs continue to rise, the union’s goal is to minimize employee contributions to those costs.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for 6/26/08. Be sure to check back in here or talk to a bargaining team member to stay in the loop! Your bargaining committee is: Blake Martin, Eric Martinez, Elaine Canty, Keith Blue, Brendan Caramante, Alfred Carnero, Jamel Huger