|
|
| Tattered Cover, Westminster | |
Feature stories, one in the Denver Post and the other in Denverite, have outlined tensions at the Tattered Cover in the wake of the sale of the bookseller a little over a year ago. Some former and current staff members have made a range of allegations: morale is down; employees are overworked and pay hasn't risen commensurate with the work and promised gains; staff is doing more than in their job descriptions; some longtime staff were let go; too much emphasis is placed on sales over other considerations; and change is destroying qualities that for decades made Tattered Cover a special place to work, despite low pay. Some charges focused on CEO Kwame Spearman, who was accused of bullying, misogyny, abusive language and more.
Since the change in ownership in December 2020, Tattered Cover has opened a store in Westminster, a shop at the Stanley Marketplace in Aurora, and a popup at the Park Meadows Mall in Lone Tree. In addition, it moved its Lower Downtown location to McGregor Square, a new development next to Coors Field. Tattered Cover now has seven locations and some 140 staff members, and it recently announced it will open a store in Colorado Springs.
 |
|
| Kwame Spearman | |
In long written rebuttals to both the Denver Post and Denverite, Spearman said that Tattered Cover has had severe financial problems for years and that the company needed either to grow or to cut costs, which would result in many layoffs. As he said to the Denverite, "We chose to grow. By adding more stores, we're hoping to provide more revenue--which will help us get to a point where we can pay people what they deserve."
And although both stories referred to widespread resignations, Tattered Cover's human resources department said that in the past year, 15% of full-time and 28% of part-time staff had left--rates below those of many retail businesses during the pandemic.
Spearman also denied the personal accusations of bullying and swearing at staff, saying that the conversations as reported by former staff members weren't accurate. He also pointed to monthly employee surveys that act as a conduit for staff to convey their opinions to the owners. An outside investigator was hired to look into complaints about Spearman's behavior; he has issued a report but because of confidentiality rules, it hasn't been made public.
Among the complaints, many had to do with the move of the downtown bookstore, when some staff members said they weren't given safety glasses and were asked to do unsafe work involving saws and nailing, and work not in job descriptions. Spearman noted that he could have furloughed staff for the two months between the store's closing and reopening but paid them instead and gave them additional paid time off.
Other issues included decentralizing the receiving department so that Tattered Cover's stores received shipments directly, which some staff members objected to. Others pointed to the stress of opening several new stores, leading to exhaustion among employees.
Pay was a continuing theme. Entry-level booksellers start at $16 an hour, which is slightly above Denver's new minimum wage, which was raised at the beginning of the year to $15.87. Many employees say they expected more increases, while Spearman has said the company needs to become financially stable.