Macy’s Employees in San Francisco Move Closer to Christmas Eve Strike

Employees at a Macy’s store in San Francisco, Calif. are heading towards a potential strike on two of the most crucial shopping days in the holiday season after failing to come to an agreement on a contract with management.

Members of the UFCW Local 5 union on Tuesday rejected a contract offer from Macy’s, which now allows the bargaining committee to organize a strike as they protest for higher wages, affordable healthcare and improved safety and security measures in the store. The committee will meet with Macy’s on December 21 to work towards an agreement but have planned a tentative strike on December 23 and 24 in the event that a deal is not reached.

The union has also filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge against Macy’s related to the retailer’s handling of the membership vote on Tuesday.

“Macy’s workers should expect an onslaught of misinformation over the coming days as Macy’s will attempt to re-direct attention away from the issues that matter to the workforce,” UFCW Local 5 said in a release. “Don’t fall prey to Macy’s misinformation and continue to stand united for a contract that honor’s the hard work and sacrifice retail workers have endured over the nearly 3 years since the beginning of the pandemic.”

Macy’s did not return FN’s request for comment.

This is not the first time workers at a Macy’s store have threatened to go on strike. Macy’s workers at the company’s flagship store in NYC prepared to go on strike in 2016, but ended up negotiating a deal that focused on issues such as health care insurance, work schedules and pension plans.

Across the U.S., retail workers in Starbucks, Amazon, Target and REI stores have joined the wave of unionization efforts in recent months, as employees seek higher wages and safer workplaces in the wake of the pandemic.