Gillen is the Right Leader for Supervisor of the Town of Hempstead NEW YORK, NY – Today, Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU, UFCW), announced the union’s endorsement of Laura Gillen for re-election as Supervisor of the Town of Hempstead. “Since taking office, Laura Gillen has diligently ensured that the town’s hard-working people are put first in decision making. Supervisor Gillen has taken great strides to reverse decades long financial harm to workers; and the RWDSU stands with her to continue her work as Supervisor in her re-election campaign,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU, UFCW).   Continue reading

In July, members at RWDSU Local 125 in St. Joseph, Missouri, have overwhelmingly approved a new five-year contract with their employer, National Beef Leathers, where 400 RWDSU members process cow hide into blue leather, which is then sold to vendors who turn it into everything from shoes to car seat covers. The contract increases wages $2.20 an hour over the term on just the General Wage Increase, but half of the plant will also be able to increase wages in the Maintenance, Environmental and Loft Departments anywhere from $1.00-$5.00 an hour on a pay for skill program that the member wishes to achieve. Longevity pay increases based on a member gaining five years seniority and again at 10 years seniority also were made. The members also will receive a $1,000 signing bonus. Numerous improvements in language as well in seniority and funeral leave. The agreement also created eights new positions that will be known as a Flex Employee in the Production Department (that will be a basic relief person in that department). The Union was able to maintain the Company’s medical insurance with little change in the plan starting in January of 2021 with little premium increases to the member. The Bargaining Committee was made up of Travis Garton, Local 125 President, Bobby Mendoza Chief Steward at National Beef, Darvin Waitkoss, Ed Burdette, Ernie Turner, Rashiene Stewart. They were assisted by Dennis Williams Sr. Business Representative for the Central States Council and RWDSU Representative Roger Grobstich.

“We extend our deepest sympathy to our brothers and sisters at 32BJ on the loss of President Hector Figueroa. Hector was a champion for workers, standing on the front lines of many critical fights. From the Fight for $15 to the Fast Food Workers campaign, he made a difference for working people. Hector has left a strong legacy of tenacious warriors who will continue his legacy for generations of workers to come. We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters at 32BJ and with Hector’s family,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).

“Amazon has a well-documented history of mistreating and dehumanizing its workers in the U.S. and around the world. The stress can be particularly hard on any day, and especially during Prime Day events. But, this year, the toll on Amazon’s workers will be considerably worse. Prime Day has been expanded to two-days and earlier this year Amazon announced a new policy of one-day shipping that effectively doubles the pace of its workers. Amazon fulfillment workers were already facing speeds of 200-300 orders per hour in 12-hour shifts before the new policy. They were struggling to maintain that pace, even before the one-day shipping policy was announced. Testing hundreds of thousands of workers physical limits as though they were trained triathletes is the wrong approach. Operating at these speeds for this duration means Amazon needs to hire more workers, under more sustainable speeds that don’t put worker’s lives in jeopardy. Amazon needs to understand that human beings are not robots,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).

Workers who provide food and beverages for American, Delta and United Airlines flights demand a living wage and health care they can afford FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 24, 2019 Contact: Chelsea Connor | [email protected] | 347-866-6259        NATIONWIDE—Workers who prepare, pack and deliver food and beverages served aboard flights for American, Delta, United and other airlines have voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike when released by the National Mediation Board. It was the largest such vote ever to occur in the U.S. airline catering industry, with more than 11,000 workers voting in 28 cities. The workers are members of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, UNITE HERE unions, and are employed by the two largest airline catering subcontractors in the world: LSG Sky Chefs and Gate Gourmet.  The three unions collectively represent more than 25,000 airline catering workers. Continue reading

As the Trump administration has appointed new board members and replaced top staffers at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), it has signaled a directional shift in interpreting workers' rights laws. Uber drivers discovered this when a recent NLRB memo undercut their movement to organize for higher wages and better working conditions. While this was a setback for union organizers, an equally consequential workers' rights case, attracting far less notice, is awaiting a ruling by the full five-member NLRB. It involves free-speech rights that, until now, seemed securely protected by the National Labor Relations Act. For about 85 years, the National Labor Relations Act has protected the rights of private-sector workers to discuss job-related concerns among themselves, and — importantly — with outsiders, including the news media. Currently, Google and its parent company, Alphabet, are facing accusations of violating the federal workers' rights law, which has been applied for decades to prevent employers — including President Trump's former Atlantic City resort hotel — from silencing employee complaints. Indeed, companies large and small — including the president's own — have regularly been caught forbidding their employees from giving interviews without supervisory approval, and have been sanctioned by federal regulators for excessively controlling their employees' speech. Now, the president's appointees to the NLRB have a chance to reaffirm — or retreat from — decades' worth of legal precedent protecting whistleblowers' rights.   read more here at CNN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 6, 2019 Contact: Chelsea Connor | [email protected] | 347-866-6259      HUGE VICTORY AS ASSEMBLY PASSES A.6346-C JUST ONE DAY AFTER THE SENATE PASSED THIER BILL ENDING SUB-MINIMUM WAGES FOR DOWNSTATE CAR WASH WORKERS Carwasheros Call on Governor Cuomo to sign the Bill Into Law NEW YORK, NY – Today, in a huge win for New York’s car wash workers and the culmination of their seven-year campaign for justice in the industry, the New York State Assembly passed A.6346-C. This comes just a day after the Senate passed S.4030-A. The new law would require car wash workers downstate for the first time to be paid the full minimum wage. The law is an important step towards ending the injustice of the tip-credit loophole which enables employers to deduct tips from workers’ wages and opens the door for unscrupulous employers to steal their wages. Now, car wash workers are urging the Governor to sign their bill into law quickly and finally put an end to their washed-out-wages. “No worker should earn below the minimum wage – ever, and this law will change the lives of thousands of car wash workers in New York,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). “For far too long car wash workers in New York have earned poverty wages under the tip credit law. Today, the New York State Assembly made clear that our legislature recognizes that this abhorrent loophole has left immigrant workers susceptible to wage theft. As a result of the work of both chambers passing this legislation, over 5,000 workers will now have a chance to earn fair wages for their work. Governor Cuomo has long been a supporter of justice for car wash workers and we look forward to him signing this bill into law. We applaud the leadership of Speaker Carl Heastie and lead sponsor Assemblymember Marcos Crespo for taking this historic measure today to lift up and protect car wash workers.”   # # #   The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) represents 100,000 members throughout the United States. The RWDSU is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW).  For more information, please visit our website at www.rwdsu.org, Facebook:/RWDSU.UFCW Twitter:@RWDSU