Members of the RWDSU Southeast Council at Autoneum in Aiken, South Carolina are making a difference in their community by ensuring local students have the tools they need to succeed. As the new school year began, Autoneum members came together to fill backpacks with school supplies for students at North Aiken Elementary School.

Three years ago, a handful of workers started having quiet conversations in between unloading trucks and setting up stalls. They work at GrowNYC, a nonprofit organization that facilitates greenmarkets, farmstands, gardens, and educational programs across New York City to provide community-enriching services. Workers keep farmers markets running, connect communities with healthy food, and support environmental education year-round, which includes providing fresh, local food access, running community gardens and teaching spaces, and delivering sustainability and nutrition education to New Yorkers in all five boroughs.

National Voter Registration Day 2025 is quickly approaching on September 16th! For union members, registering to vote is an essential step in ensuring our voices are heard, both in the workplace and beyond. We recognize that our collective power is not only in negotiating for improved wages, benefits, and working conditions but also in actively engaging in the political arena. Elections shape policies that influence labor laws, workers' rights, the economy, and more. By registering to vote, union members guarantee that they have a direct impact on these decisions, from local elections to national contests that can shape the future of the labor movement.

Today, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) announced the ratification of the very first union contract at GrowNYC. The three-year agreement will cover over a hundred workers at the large-scale non-profit across 60+ locations in all five boroughs of New York City who work at the organization's greenmarkets and farmstands, as well as in its teaching garden, warehouse and headquarters. The union first won voluntary recognition back on May 16, 2023 making this a significant milestone in resolving many issues and paving the way for lasting improvements.