On Feb. 25, 2026, McKay’s announced that it sold its Knoxville location on Papermill Road. Book lovers have until May 3, 2026, to purchase any books or other items from the location.
Communications Workers of America Local 3805, the union representing the workers at McKay’s Knoxville location, claimed the Knoxville store’s closure as retaliation against the union.
“McKay’s decision to shut down a beloved bookstore rather than negotiate in good faith with their workers is a disgusting attempt to bust the union, coming from a company that has already violated federal labor laws multiple times over,” said Ray Mehaffey, president of CWA Local 3805, in an interview with WATE. “CWA is not going anywhere. We will pursue McKay’s and its owners to the ends of the earth in our fight for justice for the Knoxville McKay’s workers and their loyal customers.”
Prior to the sale of the property, the Knoxville McKay’s union boycotted twice in November 2025, urging customers through its Instagram account, @mckays_knox_workers, to shop elsewhere on Nov. 15 and on Black Friday weekend, Nov. 28 to Nov. 30. A third open-ended boycott started on Dec. 22, 2025. The Knoxville McKay’s union previously hosted pickets to inform people about its cause.
“This [the boycott] is in reaction to the charges that have already been filed,” Jaxx Fox, a member of the union negotiation team, said regarding the Nov. 15 boycott.
According to a press release, the CWA filed one labor complaint with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of the McKay’s union when on Labor Day 2023, McKay’s paid every other store except the Knoxville location time and a half. Grouped with the first charge against McKay’s, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found merit in discrimination against the union, citing a $1 cost-of-living raise that was given to all stores in March 2024 except the Knoxville location.
The CWA filed a second complaint against McKay’s for retaliation after the NLRB investigated the firing of union negotiation team member Blake Lemons, who worked for McKay’s for 21 years.
“I joined the union because every dedicated employee at McKay’s deserves dignity, respect, and the security of a union contract that guarantees just cause,” said Lemons in a CWA press release. “I look forward to getting back to the job I love, serving my customers, and negotiating a union contract that protects my coworkers from going through the unjust treatment I received for standing with my union. It’s time for a fair contract, and we won’t back down until we get it.”
The CWA filed a third complaint against McKay’s for bad-faith bargaining with the business, claiming the company refused to meet with the union’s bargaining team at reasonable times and intervals.
These three complaints were due to go to labor court on Dec. 12, 2025, but the case was postponed due to the federal shutdown in Oct. 2025 and again due to the partial government shutdowns in 2026. The case status is listed as open according to the NLRB as of March 5, 2025, but it’s unclear how the sale of the property will impact the case.
McKay’s denied the three allegations listed above from the CWA press release in the following statement for FOX8.
“McKay’s Books has been a part of the Knoxville community for many years, and we care deeply about our customers, our employees, and the trust we’ve built together. We strongly deny the allegations in the Unfair Labor Practice charges, as they do not reflect who we are or how we operate.”
Ablaze reached out to McKay’s support team for comment on the Nov. 15 boycott and the upcoming court case. Regarding the court case, McKay’s corporate office replied in an email: “We are looking forward to presenting our side at the upcoming hearing.”
In regards to the Nov. 15 boycott, McKay’s corporate office wrote,
“We will always respect our employees’ legal right to unionize and express themselves. We have been bargaining and meeting in good faith with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) since February 2023.
After years of bargaining the Company’s Last, Best, and Final Offer was presented to the Union in September 2025. A few employees have expressed dissatisfaction in response to this offer and that is likely the reason for their call to boycott last Saturday. We have been and will continue to meet with the Union to give them the opportunity to break this impasse in our bargaining.”
In 2025, McKay’s ownership also started renting from the American Car Center ownership for use of the ACC parking lot next door, where McKay’s union members used to hold informational pickets
“We found out as we were packing up, we were told that the managers had been told by ownership to call the local police department to ask us to leave if they saw us doing any kind of union activity,” Fox said.
Ablaze emailed McKay’s asking why they began renting the American Car Center parking lot.
“We rented the parking lot to address some concerns from employees. The portion of our lot that is reserved for employees only handles around 10 cars. Employees started parking next door at the former American Car Center lot, but it was listed as private property with the potential of getting your car towed. We instructed employees to park in our lower lot, but they expressed concern that it was too far from the building,” McKay’s corporate office wrote.
“We were also getting concerns that the ACC property was being left unattended leading to the collection of trash and drug paraphernalia. By leasing the lot from the owner, we are able to provide our employees with a legal and accessible place to park while at work and give us the ability to maintain the property by addressing the debris and landscaping needs.”
The Knoxville McKay’s Union has been bargaining for over three years for a first contract. This is over double the average time it typically takes for a union to reach a first contract, according to a 2021 analysis by Robert Combs for Bloomberg Law.
