Union Focusing on Newport Bloomingdale’s

Although there has been interest from employees at other Bloomingdale’s stores in Southern California, Teamsters union organizers say they are focused solely on organizing the chain’s Newport Beach store--for now.

“People are waiting and looking to see what’s going to be done there first,” said Manny Valenzuela, an organizer with Local 848 in El Monte. “We’ve had calls from other stores, and the employees are calling us. We’re not calling them.”

Bloomingdale’s three other Southland stores are in Beverly Hills, Century City and Sherman Oaks. As with the Newport Beach store, Valenzuela said, workers are complaining about high sales quotas that effectively eliminate commissions, and what he termed “high” employee contributions for medical insurance.

When it comes to hourly wages, Bloomingdale’s top-paid employees--who make about $14 an hour--fall in between the highest-paid workers at two other chains the Teamsters represent.

Top-paid clerks at Southern California Fedco stores, where 3,200 workers are under contract, make $12.35 an hour. Top-paid clerks at Price/Costco’s California stores, where the union represents some 8,000 workers, make $15.67 an hour.

The highest-paid retail workers under a labor contract in Southern California are clerks at the major supermarket chains. They make $15.75 an hour and are represented by the United Food & Commercial Workers union.

As of Tuesday, the Teamsters had gathered 62 of the 90 signatures needed at the Newport Beach store to file for an election.