Today, unionized REI workers with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) filed coordinated, nationwide unfair labor practice charges against their employer, Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), over the company’s bad faith bargaining practices and unilateral workplace changes that show a pattern of egregious anti-union behavior, emotional manipulation, and retaliatory actions against workers, such as firings, changes to work schedules, and disciplinary practices. Workers from all eight unionized REI locations filed charges with their regional National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) offices.

Members of RWDSU Local 87 who work at Aunt Millie’s have ratified a new three-year collective bargaining agreement. The workers stood together and fought hard to keep their current healthcare, as well as to bring all merchandisers into the union. Other wins include raises in base rate pay for drivers, a second tier for drivers, and a $500 ratification bonus for all.

A 20 percent general wage increase and $1,500 ratification bonus are among the highlights of a new four-year contract for Local 110 members at Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The contract, ratified on November 1, also brings significant improvement to new hire vacation schedules as well as increased starting pay for new hires.

RWDSU members, stewards and union representatives of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union convened in Huntington, West Viriginia, for the union’s Six-State Conference. Due to the pandemic and 2022 RWDSU convention, this was the first edition of this meeting since 2019, and it brought with it a sea of new faces eager to learn how to better represent members and strengthen the RWDSU.