Angry Ex-Workers Set For Rally Outside The Strand Bookstore

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Disgruntled workers from the Strand Bookstore union, the iconic bookshop in Lower Manhattan, are set to rally Monday outside the flagship store at 12th Street and Broadway to "decry ownership's union-busting tactics during the global pandemic."

The rally will take place at 3 p.m.

UAW Local 2179, the union representing the Strand workers, says that despite owner Nancy Bass Wyden receiving a $1-2 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, she has refused to rehire union workers and has left the store "woefully understaffed" over the past several months.

The beloved book store is the last of the original 48 book shops still standing on the famous 4th Avenue Book Row in Lower Manhattan.

According to a news release from UAW Local 2179, Wyden hired some staff back in the fall of 2020 after a public plea for business brought in a major uptick in sales, but then laid off the majority of those rehired workers Christmas week.

Wyden sent out the plea for help at the end of October, saying that the Strand's revenue dropped by 70 percent in 2020.

• Iconic Strand Book Store Sends Out A Call For Help

For some employees, it was the third time they had been fired in 2020, said the news release.

Additionally, UAW Local 2179 says that Wyden has engaged in extensive stock buying during the pandemic, purchasing over $2.5 million in stocks. Over the past year, Wyden's foray into the stock market, particularly her purchase of Amazon stock, has been reported by multiple publications — including Barrons.

Wyden is married to Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden; the pair sold their Manhattan townhouse in 2016 for $7.5 million.

"She cries 'Save the Strand' while wasting copious amounts of company resources to keep the union workforce off the payroll," reads a press release from UAW Local 2179. "The Strand is the institution it is because of the unique and dedicated individuals who work there. When we are harmed, so is the Strand and its future."