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.

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.

Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), and REI Co-op announced progress on several key topics, including an agreement to establish a national bargaining structure to inform store-level collective bargaining agreements for the 11 unionized REI stores. The agreement comes after joint meetings were held July 28-30 in Chicago, Ill.

When the dedicated staff at Diversicare Pell City in Alabama joined the RWDSU Mid‑South Council earlier this year, they knew they were taking a bold step into the fight for justice and recognition. What they didn’t know yet was that milestone would soon become a contract victory defined by dignity, fairness, and real value.