Chelsea Connor

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) issued a new report on how “the H-2B visa program has ballooned without being fixed.” Suggesting that “expanding it to year-round jobs like meatpacking would lower wages and revenue.” Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which represents over 15,000 poultry workers at facilities across the southern United States, as well as meatpacking and processing workers in other parts of the country issued the following statement:

More than 100 RWDSU members from across the Midwest region and the Tennessee District Council and more gathered in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 3–4 for the annual RWDSU 6-State Conference. The two-day event focused on strengthening our union through education, organizing, and solidarity and has now gone far beyond 6-states bringing a wide span of training and solidarity across the RWDSU.

Local 1102 is proud to announce the ratification of a new three-year agreement with Chartwells Compass Group at Iona University. This agreement covers the dedicated food service workers who keep students fed every day, ensuring their vital role on campus is respected and protected.

Food service workers represented by RWDSU Local 1102 at the Hampton Bays School District have overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year collective bargaining agreement, securing meaningful improvements that recognize the essential work they perform every day for students and families.

Whether it's the quiet streets of Sleepy Hollow or the bustling growth of the cannabis industry in Syracuse, the power of Local 338 is driven by members who look out for one another. This month, we're spotlighting two members, Amelia Curry and Zak Warner, who demonstrate that while our workplaces may look different, our commitment to supporting our coworkers remains the same.

More than sixty years after the historic marches from Selma to Montgomery, a new generation of voting rights advocates is retracing those seminal steps, not just to commemorate history, but to stop it from repeating itself.

– Today, in the face of a last-minute attempt to buy the election out from under working New Yorkers and organized labor, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) is reiterating its support for Assemblymember Alex Bores, who is bringing together the broadest coalition in NY-12 to take on the AI oligarchs and ensure this transformative technology works for people, not the powerful.

– Today, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) formally announced its endorsement of Adriano Espaillat for New York's 13th Congressional District (NY-13). The RWDSU's members who live and work across Upper Manhattan and the Bronx in NY-13 have been working in support of Espaillat's campaign spreading the word among fellow members who work in grocery and non-food retail, department stores, pharmacies, in food service, building maintenance, at area airports, in warehousing and distribution and other industries in the city.

(MASSAPEQUA, NY) – Today, Local 1102 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) announced that, by an overwhelming vote of 85% in favor of the union, workers at the Barnes & Noble store in Massapequa, New York, have voted to join RWDSU Local 1102.

On July 18, 2026, members of the Tennessee District Council (TDC) at Treehouse Foods officially ratified a new contract, marking a major win for the workforce and proving what solidarity can accomplish.