FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 24, 2025
Contact: Maria DiPasquale | mdipasquale@rwdsu.org | 201-396-1021
RECONSIDERED GOODS THRIFT STORE WORKERS VOTE UNANIMOUSLY TO JOIN THE RETAIL, WHOLESALE AND DEPARTMENT STORE UNION
Second Retail Store in a Month Votes to Unionize in Greensboro, North Carolina
(GREENSBORO, NC) – Tonight, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) announced that workers at Reconsidered Goods in Greensboro, North Carolina voted unanimously to unionize. This is now the second retail store in the area in a month to join the RWDSU. Workers at the thrift store faced an uphill battle to get to their union vote when the company tried to exclude two workers from the unit. Last month, workers went on strike over the issue and won in less than 24 hours, with the company agreeing to let all eligible workers vote in the union election.
Workers at Reconsidered Goods first began organizing their union around a shared investment in the non-profit’s work, while recognizing their workplace concerns were not being heard without a seat at the table. For a while, workers have felt severely overworked and deeply undervalued by the non-profit, whose mission and vision they work to move forward every day.
In their first union contract, workers will seek to address a litany of problems which have often gone unaddressed; problems which undermine everything good that they value about the store, its culture, and their positions at the store – the same positions the company challenged in the bargaining unit. Workers at the thrift store face safety issues both physically in store and from the public they interact with every day, have concerns about working in extreme temperatures, and around wages and scheduling changes, among other issues they feel management has been slow or failed to respond to. With a union, workers will now have a voice and a seat at the table to begin addressing these concerns; once a union contract is ratified and in place, changes will be implemented.
“Though we were hoping Reconsidered Goods would offer us voluntary recognition, we were never in any doubt that we would form our union—and today we have! Everyone I work with has been a part of this organizing, and our community has been incredibly generous to support us as well. As we head into contract negotiations, our focus is to work together so we can finally make the changes our nonprofit needs; we're going to make sure Reconsidered Goods can fulfill its mission in a safe, collaborative, and sustainable way,” said Tate Halvorsen (She/Her), E-Commerce Associate, Reconsidered Goods.
“There has been no doubt in my mind that we would win this election. We’ve been working hard for over a year to build a sense of community and camaraderie with each other. This month, we’ve demonstrated our solidarity and our willingness to show up for each other when faced with challenges. Our community has been nothing but supportive of our goals to ensure a safer work environment and we’re going to continue to work toward these goals during negotiations. I can’t say whether I expect our directors to be collaborative or not, but I’m hopeful we can work on a solution that includes the workers having a say in the decisions that affect them,” said Yvonne Rabel (She/Her), Fabric Specialist, Reconsidered Goods.
“Workers in the retail sector know the only way to secure real lasting change at work is through a union contract. The strength of workers in Greensboro, North Carolina organizing with our union in just the first two months of this year has been incredible. I’m proud to welcome workers at Reconsidered Goods into the RWDSU and have them join members at REI Greensboro in solidarity as they both work to secure their first union contracts side by side in the same city,” said Stuart Appelbaum (He/Him), President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
The vote to unionize Reconsidered Goods was conducted by an in-person vote in the breakroom at the thrift store on Monday, February 24, 2025, by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The RWDSU will represent approximately 17 workers at the thrift store in contract negotiations, which will commence shortly. The workers in the bargaining unit include all full- and regular part-time register associates, sales associates, senior sales associates, sales team leads, warehouse team leads, flex/special project employees, jewelry associates, warehouse associates, fabric assistants, fabric specialists, E-com/E-Commerce/eBay associates, merchandisers, volunteer coordinators, and education and community outreach associates. The RWDSU represents 100,000 workers nationwide, including workers at the REI Greensboro nearby, who won their election exactly one month ago on January 24, 2025.
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The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) represents 100,000 members throughout the United States. The RWDSU is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). For more information, please visit our website at www.rwdsu.org, Facebook:/RWDSU.UFCW Twitter:@RWDSU, Instagram: @rwdsustrong.