April 11, 2024, 2:21pm
Looking to spend your book budget more wisely? We’ve compiled a list of publishers and bookstores that are unionized or in the process of unionizing that deserve your business. Some of these bookstores are still in the process of unionizing, and beyond giving them your business, keep an eye out for ways you can support them. For a more general overview of book unions, I recommend these pieces by Kim Kelly in Teen Vogue and Hamilton Nolan in Jacobin on the spread of booksellers’ unions, the issues at play, and what a unionized future for books might look like.
And a big shout-out to ILWU Local 5, representing Portland area workers including booksellers at Powells, who have compiled an amazing map of unionized and unionizing bookstores in the US, Canada, and Australia!
Did we miss any bookstores or publishers? We want to keep this list current and updated! Please email us with any corrections or additions!
Publishers
HarperCollins
www.2110uaw.org
X @hcpunion
Duke University Press
www.dupworkersunion.org
Oxford University Press
www.oxfordpressunion.org
Bookstores
Barnes & Noble
7 Locations
www.barnesandnobleunion.org
Instagram @barnesandnobleunion
X @BNWorkers
Book People
Austin, TX
Instagram @bookpeopleunited
X @BkPeople_United
Bookshop Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA
Instagram @bscworkers
X @BSCWorkers
www.cwa9423.org
Book Soup
Los Angeles, CA
Instagram @booksoupunion
Bull Moose
Maine, New Hampshire
www.ufcw.org
Center For Book Arts
New York, NY
Instagram @unionizecba
X @unionizecba
City Lights
San Francisco, CA
X @CityLightsUnion
Copperfields Books
Petaluma CA
Insta @copperfieldsbooksunion
X @copperbookunion
Elliott Bay Book Company
Seattle, WA
www.bookworkersunion.org
Instagram @book_workers
X @book_workers
Green Apple Books
San Francisco, CA
www.ufcw5.org
Greenlight Bookstore
Brooklyn, NY
www.rwdsu.org
Half-Price Books
13 Locations
www.ufcw.org
X @HPBWorkersUnite
Harvard Bookstore
Boston, MA
Instagram @hbsunion
Housing Works
New York, NY
Instagram @housingworksunion
X @hworksunion
Labyrinth Books
Princeton, NJ
Instagram @labyrinthbooksunion
McKays Books
Knoxville TN
Instagram @mckays_knox_workers
X @McKaysKnoxUnion
McNally Jackson / Goods for the Study
New York, NY
www.rwdsu.org
Moe’s Books
Berkeley, CA
X @moesbooksunion
Page 1 Books
Albuquerque, NM
Instagram @page1workers
X @page1workers
Politics & Prose
Washington DC
www.ufcw.org
X @PolProseUnion
Powell’s Books
Portland, OR
www.ilwulocal5.com
@ILWULocal5
Printed Matter
New York, NY
Instagram @printedmatterunion
Skylight Books
Los Angeles, CA
X @skylight_union
Instagram @skylightbooksellersunion
Shelf Life Books
Richmond VA
www.ufcw.org
Solid State Books
Washington, DC
www.ufcw.org
The Strand
New York, NY
X @strandbooksell1