A decade+ on the front lines of retail:

United for Respect Education Fund supports a multiracial and multigenerational movement of working people who are dreaming big, winning big and building an economy that allows us to live and work with dignity.

The movement began in 2011, when 100 people who work hourly jobs at Walmart came together in front of Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, AK. We took on the name OUR Walmart and raised a call for the corporation to publicly commit to raise pay and treat their employees with respect.

For over a decade, United for Respect Education Fund has been building the leadership of those on the front lines of retail to come together and fix what’s broken at America’s largest corporate employer. Through innovative online organizing and in-person gatherings, to Black Friday strikes and online conversations with thousands of employees, the work of the movement has moved Walmart to raise wages, offer accommodations for pregnant mothers, and provide paid family leave to 500,000 full-time employees.

In 2018, wealthy private equity firms closed America’s favorite toy store — Toys ‘R’ Us — in the third largest retail bankruptcy in U.S. history, destroying the jobs of 33,000 employees and leaving them without a dime of the $75 million we were owed in severance pay. Organizing with United for Respect Education Fund, Toys ‘R’ Us employees took more than 150 actions across 20 states, garnered support for their cause, and won a historic $20 million financial assistance fund created by Toys ‘R’ Us’ former private equity owners.

Since winning at Toys ‘R’ Us, UFREF has built power with people whose jobs were destroyed at Sears, Kmart, Shopko and Art Van to push for the severance they deserve and call for accountability of the greedy Wall Street firms and billionaire execs forcing our companies into bankruptcy. People have been finding their voices and taking action with United for Respect Education Fund to advocate for different realities at work and in their communities. UFREF leaders have been pushing for structural economic changes and using their stories to transform the narrative about retail by offering firsthand insights into their experiences working hourly retail jobs.

We are building on our successes and creating a path for everyone who works hourly retail jobs to be able to thrive. The modern American economy was built on the backs of working people like us — for too long, a few greedy billionaires at the top have pushed aside our voices to enrich themselves at our expense.

Today, we say corporations must respect our work and recognize our humanity and our status as essential stakeholders in the success of our companies. We are the architects of our future, and we are the change we need. Together, we’re calling for jobs that allow us to fully support our families and live with dignity.