By RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum

$7.25 per hour has been the minimum wage in New York since 2004. Over the past eight years, low-wage workers across the state have seen their cost of living increase and the price of basic necessities like food and shelter jump. However, wages have stagnated, making basic survival more difficult. Our state's minimum wage is one of the lowest in the country, yet this is one of most expensive places to live.

RWDSU Local 17 members at Del Monte Foods in Mendota, Illinois, will see wages increase almost 15 percent over the life of their new five-year contract. The contract for over 100 members also freezes health insurance premiums for the first three years, and dental insurance for entire length of the pact.

The members work at a distribution and labeling center for Del Monte food products.
 

RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum has issued the following statement supporting President Obama's decision to reject the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline:

The Village Voice Blog has posted a Q&A with RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum, discussing the historic three-part living wage agreement in New York City. The interview examines how the agreement will directly affect employees of businesses that receive large subsidies, and the new policy framework and pilot program that will promote living wage jobs in New York City.

Read it here

At yesterday's Retail Action Press Conference for the launch of the new report on the low pay and poor benefits suffered by non-union retail workers, RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum made the following remarks:

RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum discusses the new living wage bill on NY1's Inside City Hall.

http://www.ny1.com/content/154190/ny1-online--union-leader-defends-new-living-wage-bill

A new study of non-union retail workers in New York City shows wages with a median of $9.50 an hour, with weak or non-existent benefits, sick days, and control over scheduling. Just 3 in 10 of non-union retail workers, who are employed at the city's larger retailers, receive health insurance through their jobs.

Read the study here

(l to r) City Councilmembers Annabel Palma, James Sanders, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, City Councilmembers Leticia James and Oliver Koppell, RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum, Councilmember Robert Jackson, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., and City Councilmembers Steve Levin and Dominic Recchia. 

     Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., (right) meets with RWDSU Local 3  members in New York City to review a new contract with Bloomingdales in the 1960s.

This week, Americans everywhere salute the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For RWDSU members Dr. King's legacy has special meaning.

We take special pride that, in 1968, the RWDSU was the first union anywhere to negotiate a contract guaranteeing Dr. King's birthday as a paid holiday.

The Living Wage NYC coalition and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) released the following joint statement today:
 
We are thrilled with the new effort to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory. We applaud Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the Bloomberg Administration for partnering on this important effort, which we know will lead to quality jobs for Bronx residents. This shows that the Kingsbridge Armory can be redeveloped in another way than what was proposed in 2009.