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 on May 16, 2023, making this a significant milestone in resolving many issues and paving the way for lasting improvements.
Workers originally sought to organize their union around a myriad of prolonged safety issues amid the rebound of post-pandemic New York City, including; workplace harassment including sexual harassment, seasonal layoffs with no call-back structure, a lack of structure when it came to job duties and tasks at work, and favoritism by management. This union contract alleviates these issues and more.
“This contract ratification represents the culmination of three long years of organizing and negotiating. For the first time, we will have guaranteed annual raises, just cause protections, access to chairs at all sites, and bonuses for multilingual speakers, to name a few. While the struggle and advocacy efforts will continue, we hope to achieve and sustain impactful collaboration, as well as future gains. This agreement shows what’s possible when workers stand in solidarity and disrupt the status quo,” said Win-Sie Tow, Greenmarket Site Lead and Bargaining Committee Member. Read more about the agreement here!