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Global campaign brings results:
Brylane workers in Indiana get right to join union

The workers at two Brylane distribution centres in Indiana, the United States, can now freely sign up for union membership. An agreement between the American textile workers' union Unite and the US subsidiary of French commerce multinational Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR) calls for a card/ballot count before the end of this month. Before that, Unite can conduct a two week organising campaign, from 9 to 23 January.

The agreement between Brylane and Unite ends a long trade union campaign in support of the Brylane workers. UNI Commerce was actively involved in this action, together with its affiliates in France and other countries.

Unite president Bruce Raynor and Brylane CEO Russell Stravitz jointly announced the agreement yesterday noting that it will provide Brylane workers with the opportunity to freely express whether they desire union representation:

"It is time for Brylane and UNITE to put aside their differences and let the employees decide whether they wish to be represented by the union. If they choose union representation, we have pledged to establish a friendly and productive relationship, to negotiate a contract in good faith and to deal fairly with each other. If they do not, all organizing efforts targeting Brylane will cease. In either event, we will support the decision of the employees."

- Brylane and UNITE signed a joint statement of agreement on December 27, 2002 that spells out the process that will be used to determine whether the employees wish to be represented by UNITE. The process is a secret mail-in card/ballot procedure. It will be administered by Attorney Paul Deignan, a third party neutral. The campaign period will be from January 9 to January 23, 2003.

- The neutral third party will authenticate and count the employees' card/ballots as soon as possible after the campaign ends. If 50 percent plus one of the Brylane distribution center employees express the desire to be represented by UNITE, Brylane will recognize the union and begin negotiations on the first union contract for the Indiana facilities. If 50% or less of the employees support union representation, UNITE will discontinue its Brylane organizing activities in Indiana and elsewhere for at least one year.