Zara employees unionize in New York City

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Aug 4, 2016

Zara employees in New York City formed a union marking as the first Zara workers to unionize in the US. The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) will represent over 1,000 Zara employees, according to the American press, which will include stock room and fitting room associates and greeters.

 
Buzzfeed reported on Monday that Zara agreed to recognize the union after the majority of workers at Zara’s 8 New York City locations signed cards saying that they wished to be represented by the RWDSU Local 1102 chapter. In September 2015, Inditex with UNI Commerce's United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) made a presentation to Zara workers showing the value of US workers seeking the right to join a union. The presentation was part of the UNI-Inditex Global Agreement.
 
The AFL-CIO quoted a Zara employee, Darren Frett, as saying, "I've worked in the New York retail sector for many years and it's great to work for a company which respects the right of its employees to join a union if we want to do so."

The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union represents the employees of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Cole Haan, and Modell’s, as well as supermarkets, drug stores and car washes.
 
Zara, which is owned by Inditex, opened its first store in the US in Manhattan in 1989, and today has stores in SoHo, Herald Square, Bryant Park, Flatiron, the Financial District, Upper West Side, and Midtown.