Booksellers at Powell's Books are claiming victory after employees voted to accept a new contract—the eighth offered by Powell’s this year. The company’s more than 500 employees have been working on an expired contract since June, while their union, the ILWU Local 5, pushed for more affordable benefits, a wages bump, and a return of seniority to employees laid off and rehired during the pandemic. Current negotiations began in January, and the new contract was approved last Friday with a 93 percent vote.

The main controversy began when employees were rehired after pandemic layoffs. Many lost accrued vacation time and seniority. They also said that the jobs they returned to were less desirable than the ones they left.

Powell’s made few statements to the press around the matter, and the ongoing negotiations quickly became emblematic of the company's struggle to grow without abandoning its independent spirit.

The new contract brings an average 28 percent increase in wages for Powell’s workers over the four-year contract—a substantial raise from the prior agreement, which capped most employees’ wages at $19 per hour (around $40,000 per year). The new agreement also increases the base level pay for new employees and expedites promotion opportunities. Benefits also shifted to include increased access to holiday pay and a decrease in health care costs for workers' most common claims.

Negotiations were bumpy from the start. Powell’s size makes it somewhat of a paradox: an indie bookseller that runs a store bigger than nearly all corporate stores, yet is also in direct competition with online booksellers. Without any obvious peers to draw comparable wage rates from, the company said their booksellers’ wages should be similar to those of retail workers at department stores and fast-food outlets. The booksellers felt otherwise, arguing that their unique skill sets and expertise gives the store its magic and individuality.

The disagreement resulted in the first Powell’s employee strike in two decades—a one-day walkout on Labor Day, which forced the company to close its three stores in the metro area.

Perhaps most significant is the way that the new contract works to address the disagreements that set off the bargaining and strike; workers previously stripped of their seniority will see their accrued vacation time returned, and a new rehiring procedure is articulated, maintaining benefit eligibility for employees who remain on the recall list.