Local Voices
Zara Employees Vote to Unionize in New York City
The clothing store now has its first union in NYC.
Over 1,000 Zara employees at the eight locations around New York City voted to unionize, setting a precedent after which Zara's other locations around the world could follow suit. The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) will represent the workers, BuzzFeed News reported. The average hourly salary for a sales associate at Zara is $10.54 an hour, according to Glassdoor.
The local chapter of RWDSU that represents Zara workers also represents workers at Cole Haan, H&M, Macy's, Modell's Sporting Goods, and others.
"We wish more American employers would follow this European model of Zara and H&M, which allows and respects the unions' right to organize," RWDSU spokesperson Janna Pea said to BuzzFeed News.
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Inditex, Zara's highly successful parent company, didn't reject the unionizing. "This is a normal consequence of our commitment regarding the rights of freedom of association worldwide," the company said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.
Image by Lollasp/Wikimedia Commons/CC by 1.0
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