June 28, 2011
By Abigail Mitchell
New York, New York—The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) announced that workers at a Macy’s furniture store in Elmhurst, Queens voted to become members of the union this past weekend, just days after more than 4,000 workers at four other Macy’s stores in the New York City area, including the global flagship at Herald Square in Manhattan, ratified a landmark new contract.
The victory in the NLRB-conducted election comes on the heels of Macy’s workers represented by the RWDSU winning a general wage increase of $3.05 over the next five years, lower healthcare costs, more control over scheduling and hours, and other job improvements.
“The contract victory the week before was a powerful reminder of the difference a union can make which these workers understood,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the RWDSU. “The victory in Elmhurst, Queens is part of a larger story about working people standing together to achieve more for themselves and their families.”
“These Macy’s furniture store workers will now have a more powerful voice on the job,” said Joseph Dorismond, the RWDSU organizer who ran the Elmhurst, Queens unionization campaign. “They understand that the union exists to fight for the shared interests of workers.”
About the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), UFCW The RWDSU, which is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), represents more than 100,000 workers in the United States and Canada in retail and other industries. For more information about the RWDSU, please visit www.rwdsu.info.
