Carwasheros Call on the Assembly to Pass A.6346-C Swiftly – and End the Tip Credit Once and For All   NEW YORK, NY – Today, the New York State Senate passed S.4030-A, which will require car wash workers downstate for the first time to be paid the full minimum wage. This is a big step in correcting an injustice for workers and towards ending the tip-credit loophole – which enabled employers to deduct tips from workers wages. Now, car wash workers are urging the Assembly to pass their bill quickly to put an end to their washed-out-wages. “No worker should earn below the minimum wage – ever,” 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 Senate recognized that this abhorrent loophole has left immigrant workers susceptible to wage theft. As a result of the work of Senator Jessica Ramos and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins passing this critical legislation, over 5,000 workers will now have a chance to earn fair wages for their work. We are excited to work with Assemblymember Marcos Crespo and Speaker Carl Heastie on moving forward on the coordinating bill in the Assembly and ending this loophole for good.” # # # 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.

Union Highlights Louis’s Work Fighting to Protect the Rights of Workers (NEW YORK, NY) – Today, President Stuart Appelbaum of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), announced the union’s endorsement of Farah Louis in her Primary Election bid to represent the 45th Councilmanic District in New York City. “Farah Louis’s career in public advocacy began when she made a critical choice to come from behind a news-camera and take to the school bus drivers’ strike line instead. From that moment on she hasn’t stopped fighting for the rights of working people,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President, Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union (RWDSU). “Councilmember Louis knows the 45th district inside and out. She knows that smart development of the district with union jobs will ensure that generations of Brooklynites can truly live and work there. We know Farah will stand up and protect workers’ rights to organize and to have safe working conditions. And that she will ensure everyone in the 45th can earn a fair wage. The RWDSU is proud to support Farah on her re-election campaign and we look forward to continue working with her.” The 45th Councilmanic District includes East Flatbush, Flatbush, Flatlands, Marine Park, and Midwood.

Workers at Fresenius in Mobile, Alabama Had One Goal in Seeking a Union Contract, Care for Their Patients – and They Won (MOBILE, AL) – Today, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), announced that workers at the Fresenius kidney dialysis facility in Mobile, Alabama, voted unanimously to ratify their first contract. The negotiations committee worked tirelessly to secure a strong contract that ensures workers’ concerns will be heard. This contract will protect the hard-working patient care technicians that provide critical care to patients in Mobile. This contract sets a scheduling protection precedent, which will bring stability to both workers and patients’ lives. It should set a standard not just for the global employer, but the industry. The union is also currently in negotiations for a contract at another Fresenius facility in Alabama and is confident that the strong provisions secured here will be part of that contract as well. The RWDSU represents healthcare workers across the U.S. in Alabama, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. This announcement comes among a string of organizing and contract wins in the South for the RWDSU. The union continues to win organizing campaigns in Right-to-Work states, bringing a union voice for workers in previously vehemently anti-union workplaces. “The healthcare workers at Fresenius had one goal in seeking a union contract, care for their patients – and they won, “Randy Hadley, President of the Mid-South Council of the RWDSU said. “This first contract will bring so much not only to our members, but to their patients at Fresenius in Mobile. Together I know we can continue to spread that to so many other facilities where critical care like this is given to so many suffering from kidney disease and health issues. The ratification of this contract was conducted in the afternoon of Saturday, April 27, 2019 and was approved unanimously. The contract will be in effect for four years and includes critical provisions such as: Up to 6% wage increases in the first year of the contract, as well as ratification bonuses.  Guaranteed union access to the facility to ensure the collective bargaining agreement is being properly adhered to. Guaranteed scheduling protections, which will bring stability to both workers and patients lives.  

STATEMENT: RWDSU PRESIDENT RESPONDS TO 1-DAY AMAZON PRIME SHIPPING ANNOUNCEMENT “With two-day Prime shipping, Amazon fulfillment workers currently face speeds of 200-300 orders per hour in 12-hour shifts. They struggle already to maintain that pace. If Amazon plans to effectively double the speed, it must also address existing workforce needs and ensure its workers are safe. Increasing fulfillment speeds means they need to hire more workers, under more sustainable speeds that don’t put worker’s lives in jeopardy.” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).

Appelbaum: “Rory is the candidate of working people in the race for District Attorney” QUEENS, NEW YORK: Councilman Rory Lancman, a candidate for Queens District Attorney, announced the endorsement of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) and their 45,000 members in New York. “Rory Lancman’s time in the State Assembly and the City Council has shown he is one of the most effective advocates for working people in Queens,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). “Our union represents and organizes the most vulnerable and marginalized workers in our city today. Rory is the candidate of working people in the race for District Attorney. Rory has the clearest vision to support workers’ rights. He has pledged to build a new unit in the District Attorney’s office to combat rampant wage theft and protect workers from injury, harassment and discrimination. Rory’s 15 years of experience as a lawyer helping workers facing these same pervasive workplace issues is proof he is the right person to lead the way. We are ready to get to work electing Rory Lancman as the next Queens District Attorney.” “I’ve dedicated my career to fighting for working New Yorkers, and it’s a great honor to have the backing of the RWDSU,” said Councilman and candidate for Queens District Attorney Rory Lancman. “Together, we can refocus the District Attorney’s office to ensure that the people of Queens finally have a true leader with experience in the fight for workers' rights.” Before being elected to public office, Rory Lancman spent the better part of fifteen years as a workplace rights lawyer representing victims of employment discrimination and harassment, wage theft, and workplace injury. While serving in the State Assembly, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Workplace Safety, and in the City Council, Rory has consistently stood up for working people in their right to organize and collectively bargain for fair wages, safe working conditions, and retirement security.   Lancman’s longtime defense of worker rights has earned him the formal endorsement of unions representing tens of thousands of workers, including: IBEW Local 3, District Council 1707, International Union of Operating Engineers Locals 891 and 94, Teamsters 813, Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local Union #1 New York, Workers United, NY/NJ Regional Joint Board (SEIU), NYC Allied Printing Trades Council NY NJ CT, and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.) Local One. Councilman Lancman was the first to announce his candidacy for District Attorney because Queens can’t wait any longer for real criminal justice reform -- for an end to the overpolicing and mass incarceration of communities of color that marks the New Jim Crow, and for renewed focus on protecting working people, women, immigrants, homeowners, and tenants. As chair of the City Council Committee on the Justice System, he has jurisdiction over the City’s five district attorneys, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, and the courts. His hearings, budget actions, and legislation have been on the leading edge of criminal justice reform. ###    

Atlanta Business Journal AL.com