Organizing Update

McKay’s Books Inc.

Workers at McKay’s Books Inc. in Knoxville, Tenn., who are organizing to form a union with CWA, held a rally with community members and allies to build solidarity and support ahead of the vote count for their union representation election. 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 providing access to 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. Fed up by the failure of McKay’s owners to recognize the value of their contributions, the workers are organizing as 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. Read more here.

Workers at McKay’s Knoxville bookstore participated in a rally to build solidarity with community members ahead of the vote count for their union election.

###

Park City Mountain Resort

Lift mechanics and electricians at Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah, submitted a petition for a representation election to the National Labor Relations Board, becoming the first group of ski resort mechanics in the country to seek formal union representation. They are organizing as the Park City Lift Maintenance Professional Union under the United Professional Ski Patrols of America (CWA Local 7781). The petition was submitted with the support of eighty percent of the workers. The members of the mechanics team face dangerous work conditions, chronic understaffing, and low pay that is not commensurate with the precarity of their work or cost of living. These issues contribute to constant employee turnover, which makes it impossible to cultivate a crew of experienced mechanics, and their work often goes unappreciated despite being essential to the resort’s functioning. The workers believe that self-advocacy as a union crew will combat these issues, and create a safe and equitable working environment for all. CWA Local 7781 currently represents over 650 ski patrollers in the Mountain West and Pacific Northwest, and recently added the Purgatory Resort Bike Patrol to their ranks.