Support Scarlett letters staff fighting for job security, dignity and respect

Dear Marin Scarlett, director of The Scarlett Letters bookshop, I am contacting you because I am shocked to find out that the booksellers at…

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To: Marin Scarlett, director of The Scarlett Letters bookshop

Dear Marin Scarlett, director of The Scarlett Letters bookshop,

I am contacting you because I am shocked to find out that the booksellers at The Scarlett Letters feel compelled to ballot for strike action due to precarious working conditions and poor treatment. It is troubling that such conditions persist in a workplace known for it progressive values. I stand in support of the workers' demands and urge you to address them, starting with the immediate provision of fixed-hour contracts.

The booksellers, who are all members of United Voices of the World, are demanding:

- That every member of staff receives fixed / guaranteed hours contracts which reflect the shifts typically worked, as was promised to them upon accepting the job offer.

- Implementation of an occupational sick pay scheme.

- To co-develop and adopt cooperative workplace principles and structures that reflect the values of equity, solidarity, and mutual respect.

- Full transparency around the finances of the organisation (including fundraising, investments, income, grant applications and distributions).

- Fair pay for fair work, including piecework rates for illustration, graphic design and other tasks that fall outside of bookseller duties

In response to these very reasonable demands, which should have been in place from the beginning of their contracts, the booksellers have been met with threats of losing their jobs, under the guise of “restructuring”. They asked for job security, but instead they’ve been met with more insecurity than ever.

The Scarlett Letters has built its brand and reputation on being a “radical” bookshop, yet these practices are below what I’d expect from many mainstream organisations. While the marginalised identities of the booksellers (as queer, trans, disabled, racialised, sex workers, and/or students) have been central to the shop’s public image, their working conditions have grown increasingly precarious.

The Scarlett Letters has always claimed to be “community-led” and yet the staff have not been consulted on decisions that directly affect the bookshop and themselves, their working conditions, and their pay. This is your chance to take your lead from the wider community, who call on you to implement the workers’ demands.

These demands are not acts of generosity, they are a moral imperative, especially as a so-called “radical” space.

With these changes, I believe The Scarlett Letters could still be the space it set out to be. I urge you to agree to your workers demands as soon as possible to avoid strike action and to give them the dignity and respect they deserve at work.

Yours sincerely,

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