A supermajority of employees at the Center for Fiction have filed to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) and requested recognition from the Center, according to an announcement Thursday evening. Employees of the Brooklyn organization cited cost of living concerns and a desire to have a voice in how the Center is run as the impetus for unionizing.

Pending the Center’s response, employees of the nonprofit bookseller would join the RWDSU alongside a growing number of New York City bookstores, including large retail locations like Barnes & Noble and independent shops like Book Culture, Greenlight, and McNally Jackson. The Center for Fiction’s union would consist of about 25 employees and would include staff overseeing events and membership, in addition to cafe and bookstore workers.

In a video shared to Instagram Thursday, employees presented their request for voluntary recognition to the Center for Fiction’s executive director, Lydah Pyles DeBin. “Without us, the organization would cease to operate,” said an employee. “Through the formation of our union, we are acting in alignment with the Center’s values, by allowing the organization to also effect positive change in the lives of those who make its mission possible.”

Bookseller Henri Seguin, who has been working at the Center for just over a year, said that he was invested in the strength of the Center's community before he even started working there, as he had friends who received support from their emerging writing program. Once he started working there, though, he felt a sense of “stratification” within the staff. “As I sort of got into the weeds of it, and experienced that...disconnect between the different roles, I very quickly looked for different ways to connect workers there,” Seguin said.

The Center opened its Brooklyn location in 2019 and is known for its literary events and bookstore. The Center hosts writing workshops, fellowships, children's programs, and awards, and also houses a library, writers studio, and cafe.

RWDSU spokesperson Chelsea Connor said that voluntary recognition from the Center, which could come as soon as later today or Monday, would allow employees to bypass a lengthy and expensive legal process with the National Labor Relations Board. It is generally more common for nonprofits to recognize majority worker votes to unionize compared to large corporations, according to the spokesperson.

Union drives have become ever more frequent among booksellers, a trend that Connor says reflects a resurgence of interest in physical bookstores post-pandemic. “People want to hold books again, and the workers in the industry have long lagged behind in terms of wages and safety and benefits,” Connor said, adding that with a union, employees at the Center for Fiction would have a record and point of reference for their working conditions, allowing them greater voice in how the Center is run. “While the workers at [the Center] work in fiction, a union contract is fact," she said.